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ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


4 


/ 


VIEW  OF  THE  BUILDINGS  ABOUT  1720 


ANNALS 

OF 

CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


BY 

E.  H.  PEARCE,  M. A. 

VICAR  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH  AND  RECTOR  OF 
S.  LEONARD  FOSTER,  E.C. 

FORMERLY  “GRECIAN”  AND  ASSISTANT  MASTER  AT  CHRIST'S  HOSPITAL 


“ Christes  Hospitall  erected  was , a pas  singe  dede  of  pittie  ” 

(Lines  under  a portrait  in  the  Court  Room) 


METHUEN  & CO. 

36  ESSEX  STREET  W.C. 
LONDON 
1901 


I 


PREFACE 


HRIST’S  HOSPITAL  has  long  enjoyed  the  happiness 


which  is  stated  to  consist  in  having  “ no  history.”  Men 
like  Wilson  and  Trollope  have  published  accounts  of  the 
school,  which  may  or  may  not  have  been  accurate  in  so  far 
as  they  deal  with  matters  which  came  under  the  direct  obser- 
vation of  the  writers,  but  which  were  not  “ history  ” in  the 
sense  of  investigation.  The  only  possible  way  to  get  at  the 
facts  is  to  go  through  the  voluminous  and  carefully  preserved 
minutes  of  the  Courts  and  Committees,  whose  benevolent 
work  has  never  ceased  since  the  foundation.  The  kindness 
of  the  Treasurer  and  the  Chief  Clerk  has  permitted  me  to 
examine  this  store  of  historical  material,  and,  wherever  it 
was  possible,  I have  allowed  the  worthy  citizens  to  give  an 
account  of  their  stewardship  in  their  own  words  and  their 
own  spelling  of  them. 

But  this  perpetual  government  by  Courts  and  Committees 
has  made  it  impossible  to  divide  the  record  into  periods. 
The  year  1891  is  indeed  the  only  landmark  in  the  history 
of  the  Hospital.  It  has  therefore  seemed  best  to  proceed 
on  the  plan  here  adopted  of  arranging  the  material  under 
subject-headings  rather  than  in  fictitious  eras. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  I am  indebted  to  many  friends. 
Besides  the  Counting  House  authorities  already  referred  to, 
I have  had  the  constant  assistance  of  Mr.  William  Lempriere, 


Vll 


V1U 


PREFACE 


whose  knowledge  and  research  have  forged  many  a weapon 
for  those  legal  contests  which  have  been  forced  on  a peaceful 
and  once  prosperous  institution.  It  has  been  thought  best 
that  the  illustrations  should  show  the  buildings  in  their 
present  and  alas ! their  final  state ; and  here  I must  express 
my  indebtedness,  among  others,  to  my  friend  and  former 
colleague,  the  Rev.  D.  F.  Heywood,  and  to  Mr.  Charles  E. 
Browne,  the  Science  Master.  My  brother,  the  Rev.  E. 
Courtenay  Pearce,  has  kindly  revised  the  proofs,  and  Mr. 
Herbert  Welch  has  compiled  an  ample  index. 

But,  where  debts  are  in  question,  it  is  impossible  to  close 
this  record  without  a sense  of  its  inadequacy  as  an  expression 
of  my  lasting  obligations  to  my  dear  “ nursing  mother.” 
Happily  she  needs  no  memorial.  Her  children  rise  up  and 
call  her  blessed. 

E.  H.  P. 

Christ  Church  Vicarage 
October , 1901 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Grey  Friars 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Foundation  of  the  School 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  School  and  its  Children 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  School’s  Buildings 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Grammar  School 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Mathematical  School 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Music  School 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Writing,  Reading,  and  Drawing 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Juniors  and  the  Girls  . 

CHAPTER  X. 

Food  and  Clothing 


PAGE 

I 

IO 

33 

45 

65 

99 

135 

146 

163 


IX 


173 


X 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PAGE 

The  School  at  Church  . . . . . 191 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Of  Great  Occasions  . . . ...  204 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Of  Rites  and  Ceremonies  . . . . 217 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Out  of  School  . . . ...  243 

CHAPTER  XV. 

After  School  . . . ...  267 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Reform  . . . . ...  285 

Note  and  Appendices  . . ...  300 

Index  . . . . ...  305 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


View  of  the  Buildings  about  1720 

Frontispiece 

The  Old  Hall  and  Whittington’s  Library  . 

FACING 

PAGE 

6 

The  Churchyard  of  Christ  Church 

13 

Sir  Richard  Dobbs  .... 

20 

King  Edward  VI. 

25 

The  Presentation  of  the  Charter  . 

3i 

The  Lodge,  Christ  Church  Passage 

38 

The  Giffs  Cloister  .... 

45 

An  Arch  in  the  Giffs  Cloister 

5i 

The  Garden  and  the  Grecians’  Cloister 

55 

The  Hall  ..... 

63 

The  Counting  House  Door 

7 1 

The  Fourth  Form  Room 

83 

The  Old  Grammar  School 

90 

The  Grammar  and  Mathematical  Schools  . 

96 

The  Charter  of  the  Royal  Mathematical  School 

IOI 

The  Old  Mathematical  School 

108 

The  Hall-Play  and  Christ  Church  Tower  . 

119 

Badges — 

(1)  The  King’s  Foundation  ; (2)  Stone’s  Foundation ; (3)  Stock’s 
Foundation  . . . ... 

129 

The  Writing  Master’s  (now  the  Warden’s)  House 

136 

The  Hall  ..... 

141 

The  Writing  School  .... 

I5I 

The  Hertford  School — 

(r)  The  Girls’  School ; (2)  The  Playground 

163 

A Group  of  Girls  in  Verrio’s  Picture 

170 

The  Giffs  and  Johnny’s  .... 

180 

A Grecian  in  1816  .... 

185 

Christ  Church  in  1816  . 

197 

Queen  Victoria  at  Temple  Bar,  November  9th,  1837 

204 

xi 


Xll 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING  PAGE 


The  Ditch  . . . . ...  212 

The  Band  in  the  Hall-Play  . . . . 221 

The  Counting  House  Yard  . . ...  228 

Speeches  on  St.  Matthew’s  Day  . . ...  234 

Drawing  the  Lotteries  in  Coopers’  Hall  . ...  241 

Boys’  Wards — 

(1)  In  1823 ; (2)  In  1901  . . ...  249 

The  Arches  under  the  Writing  School  . ...  253 

The  Pulpit  in  the  Hall  . . - ...  261 

Dame  Mary  Ramsey  . . . ...  268 

The  Porter’s  Lodge  (east  side)  . . ...  276 

The  Court  Room  . . . ...  285 

The  Treasurer’s  House  and  Garden  . ...  294 


Ground  Plan  of  the  Buildings  before  the  Fire 
Ground  Plan  at  the  Present  Time  . 


ANNALS 


OF 


CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  GREY  FRIARS 


“ Laudate  et  benedicite  mio  signore  et  regratiate  ; 
Et  seruite  a lui  cum  grande  humilitate.” 


Hymn  of  St.  Francis. 


O account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Christ’s  Hospital 


can  be  artistically  or  even  historically  complete  which 
begins  with  its  actual  date  of  foundation.  Other  men  had 
lived  upon  its  present  site  and  had  up  to  their  lights  carried 
out  the  same  noble  labours.  Christ’s  Hospital  entered  into 
their  habitation  and  gave  itself  wholly  to  that  work  of 
nurture  and  education  which  had  been  but  a part  of  the 
daily  routine  of  the  Franciscans.  To  see  them  steadily  and 
whole,  we  pass  back  into  the  twelfth  century,  into  the  heyday 
of  mediaeval  monasticism.  Its  annus  mirabilis  is  1 1 8 1 , the 
year  of  the  birth  at  Assisi  of  a boy  who  was  christened 
“ Giovanni,”  and  who  grew  up  into  the  ordinary  mischievous 
and  extravagant  ways  of  an  unchecked  son  of  comparatively 
wealthy  parents.  But  just  over  the  threshold  of  the 
thirteenth  century  serious  illness  overtook  him  and  made 
him  thoughtful.  Thought  turned  into  action,  and  the  action 
was  so  effective  that  Francis  drew  many  round  him,  who 
were  determined,  first  of  all,  to  cultivate  individuality  of  life ; 
further,  to  fashion  their  life  by  what  they  read  of  the  life  of 


B 


2 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Jesus  ; and,  in  pursuance  of  that,  to  give  up  all  social  ties. 
These,  roughly,  were  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Vita 
Fratrum , a manual  whose  directions  received  the  approval 
of  Innocent  III.  in  A.D.  1210.  Popes,  even  the  few  who 
stand  upon  the  high  level  of  Innocent  III.,  have  seldom 
confirmed  anything  that  has  not  already  received  the  un- 
mistakable hall-mark  of  public  approbation.  Francis  and 
his  followers  had  caught  that  approbation  beyond  all  doubt. 

The  nature  of  our  present  investigation  enables  us  to  put 
our  finger  upon  the  reason  of  the  welcome  extended  to  the 
Friars  Minors.  It  lay  in  the  attention  they  paid  to  the 
towns.  Monasteries  had  looked  after  the  country  districts, 
but  the  vigorous  and  growing  commercial  communities  had, 
in  regard  to  their  religion,  been  obliged  to  shift  for  them- 
selves. Thus,  if  the  Franciscan  was  an  interloper,  at  least 
he  found  no  one  else  in  the  field.  But  the  Franciscan  was 
also  determined  to  make  a protest  against  the  inordinate 
wealth  and  luxury  of  the  clergy.  His  life  was  to  be  fashioned 
according  to  the  circumstances  of  those  among  whom  he  was 
to  preach  the  Gospel ; and  though  our  first  insight  into  these 
commercial  centres  reveals  a certain  municipal  development, 
there  is  little  trace  of  architectural  skill  and  none  of  sanita- 
tion. The  mechanics  lived  mostly  on  undrained  or  marshy 
land  by  a river.  The  Franciscan  therefore  must  be  glad, 
said  his  leader,  to  settle  down  in  such  places.  The  mechanics 
were  content  with  wattle  huts  and  mud  hovels.  Why  should 
their  missionaries  desire  anything  better?  These  provisions 
will  help  the  reader  to  follow  the  principle  of  the  first  move- 
ments of  the  nine  brethren  of  this  already  famous  order,  who 
reached  Dover  in  the  year  1224,  nine  years  after  Pope 
Honorius  had  confirmed  the  Rule  of  St.  Francis.  Of  the 
nine,  four  were  “ clerici  ” and  five  “ laid,”  and  whereas  the  latter 
were  all  foreign  and  apparently  Italian,  of  the  Clerics  only 
Brother  Agnellus  of  Pisa,  the  Provincial,  who  was  afterwards 
buried  in  the  Abbey  Choir,  belonged  to  Italy,  while  the  other 
three  were  English.  Their  names  are  worth  recording— 
Richard  de  Indewurde,  Richard  of  Devon,  and  William  de 
Esseby — as  showing  how  attractive  the  son  of  Assisi  was  to 


THE  GREY  FRIARS 


3 


men  of  a northern  clime.  Of  these  nine,  four  pushed  on  to 
London,  and  received  their  first  lodging  in  the  house  of  their 
great  rivals,  the  Dominicans,  the  Brothers  Preachers,  with 
whom  they  spent  a fortnight.  Then,  by  the  kind  offices  of 
some  clerical  friends,  they  hired  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Sheriff 
John  Travers  “ in  vico  Cornhulle,”  where  they  built  some  cells, 
but  not  a chapel,  and  remained  till  the  following  summer. 

Clearly  their  work  began  to  tell,  and  the  usual  overcrowd- 
ing of  their  “ shelter  ” was  the  result.  The  place  where  they 
dwelt  was  too  strait  for  them,  and  too  salubrious.  They  had 
no  right  to  be  upon  the  pleasant  eminence  of  Cornhill ; the 
air  was  not  bad  enough  nor  pestilential  enough.  If  he  is 
the  true  benefactor  who  gives  us  just  what  we  most  want, 
then  the  Franciscan  found  such  a one  at  this  moment.  For 
Mr.  John  Iwyn,  or  Ewen,  citizen  and  mercer,  had  a property 
in  Stynkyng  Lane  and  in  the  parish  of  St.  Nicholas  Shambles 
(the  very  names  must  have  made  the  Franciscan  mouth  water 
with  their  possibilities  of  sickness  and  smells),  and  he  was 
ready  to  make  this  over  to  the  Order  as  their  future  dwell- 
ing. The  deed  of  conveyance  is  to  be  read  at  the  end  of  six 
centuries  and  a half,  and  may  be  found  in  Leland’s  Collectanea. 
Iwyn  there  describes  that  the  gift  was  made  “ for  the  health 
of  [his]  soul,  in  pure  and  perpetual  alms,”  in  order  “ to  enter- 
tain the  poor  Fryers-Minors  as  long  as  they  will  stay  there.” 
It  is  due  to  this  cheerful  giver  that  Christ’s  Hospital  stands 
where  it  is  to-day. 

Two  things  will  readily  suggest  themselves  to  any  who 
look  into  the  matter : first,  that  the  Franciscan  must  have 
commended  his  cause  to  the  people  by  the  work  that  he  did 
among  them,  for  Iwyn  not  only  handed  over  his  land,  but 
shortly  after  himself  also,  and  he  died  a pious  brother  of  the 
order;  secondly,  that  the  civic  authorities  recognised  the 
mission  and  accorded  it  their  sympathy.  There  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  the  statement  of  the  Chronicler  of  the  Grey  Friars 
that  it  was  the  devotio  civium  which  made  this  change  of 
abode  possible,  for  the  deed  is  witnessed  by  the  Mayor,  the 
Sheriffs,  the  Alderman  of  the  Ward  and  other  citizens. 
Iwyn’s  example  was  soon  followed.  We  have  the  names 


4 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


of  the  various  citizens  who  gave  more  land  or  built  choir  and 
nave,  chapter-house,  dormitories,  refectory,  infirmary,  library. 
They  were  mayors  and  other  forgotten  City  magnates.  All 
the  essentials  of  a monastery  were  there  within  five  years. 
The  Order  had  no  great  traditions  to  attract  benefactions  ; it 
had  only  the  testimony  of  those  who  watched  the  brothers  at 
work  in  Stynkyng  Lane  and  the  Shambles,  and  by  the  banks 
of  that  open  sewer,  the  Town  Ditch. 

Alas  ! it  is  of  the  essence  of  such  success  that  it  falls  by  its 
own  weight.  A very  few  years  passed  before  the  followers 
of  Francis,  who  stripped  himself  of  his  wealth,  became 
the  recipients  of  countless  benefactions.  Whereas  their 
founder  meant  them  to  keep  close  to  the  hearts  and  needs 
of  the  lower  and  middle  classes,  they  became  the  pets  of 
Queens  and  countesses.  Within  a century  of  the  Confirma- 
tion of  the  Rule,  Margaret,  second  wife  of  Edward  I.,  gave 
a sum  of  money  to  build  a yet  larger  chapel  to  accommodate 
the  fashionable  crowds  who  flocked  to  their  services.  The 
Countess  of  Pembroke  built  the  nave,  the  Earl  and  Countess 
of  Gloucester  made  large  contributions  towards  the  work, 
including,  as  Stow  tells  us,  “ many  rich  jewels  and  ornaments 
to  be  used  in  the  same.”  The  very  first  rumour  of  such 
riches  must  have  made  poor  St.  Francis  turn  in  his  grave. 
Queen  Isabel,  wife  of  Edward  II.,  whom  Gray  in  The  Bard 
called  “ She-wolf  of  France,  with  unrelenting  fangs,”  Queen 
Philippa,  wife  of  Edward  III.,  the  Earl  of  Richmond  and 
many  others  followed  the  same  example  of  munificence,  and 
it  is  no  wonder  that  in  Stow’s  time  the  Church  had  grown 
into  one  of  the  grandest  in  the  land.  It  measured  then 
three  hundred  feet  in  length,  eighty-nine  feet  in  breadth,  and 
sixty-four  in  height.  If  anyone  wants  a practical  idea  of 
the  comparative  size  of  it,  let  him  stand  under  the  tower 
of  the  Christ  Church  of  to-day,  and  think  that  the  former 
church,  which  was  of  the  same  breadth  as  its  successor, 
extended  twice  as  far  to  the  westward  of  him  as  the  present 
one  does  to  the  east.  The  only  definite  information  about 
the  details  of  this  great  fabric  is  contained  in  a survey  made 
in  1617,  a copy  of  which  is  among  the  archives  of  St.  Bar- 


THE  GREY  FRIARS 


5 


tholomew’s  Hospital,  which  owns  the  great  tithes  of  the 
parish  and  the  patronage  of  the  benefice  of  Christ  Church. 
The  building,  it  appears,  was  an  absolute  rectangle.  There 
was  no  projecting  of  chapels  or  of  transepts.  The  nave  and 
the  choir  had  each  seven  bays,  and  these  with  the  transept 
gave  it  fifteen  windows  on  each  side ; the  west  window  was 
the  gift  of  Edward  III.  The  west  end  of  the  choir  had  its 
screen,  leaving  the  transept  a self-contained  space  between 
choir  and  nave,  called  the  “ Ambulatorium  inter  chorum  et 
altaria”;  so  that  the  Abbey  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  two 
churches,  upper  and  lower,  which  the  unceremonious  habits 
of  Tudor  times  effectually  separated  by  turning  the  transept 
into  a public  way,  now  known  as  Christ  Church  Passage. 
There  were  at  least  eleven  altars  at  the  east  end  of  the  nave 
and  in  the  aisles,  the  chapel  of  St.  Francis  being  the  second 
on  the  south  aisle,  just  where  the  parish  vestry  now  stands. 
In  the  choir  two  bays  were  occupied  with  the  friars’  stalls, 
leaving  four  bays  clear,  and  in  the  latter  space,  now  repre- 
sented by  the  centre  aisle,  stood  the  tombs  of  Queen  Mar- 
garet, Queen  Isabel,  and  Joan  of  the  Tower,  Queen  of 
Scotland.  These  brief  details  serve  to  show  that  the  Great 
Fire  and  Sir  Christopher  Wren  between  them  have  more  to 
answer  for  here  than  in  most  places;  but  of  this,  more 
later  on. 

But  the  change  from  the  mud-built  sanctuary,  which  Francis 
ordered,  to  this  temple  which  was  one-and-twenty  years  in 
building,  was  not  more  violent  than  that  which  is  implied  in 
the  erection  of  a library  by  the  immortal,  if  somewhat  fabu- 
lous, Dick  Whittington  in  1429.  Francis  was  not  a student ; 
he  even  objected  to  students  as  a class.  The  brethren,  he  con- 
stantly insisted,  wanted  no  book  but  a breviary,  and  even  this 
they  could  dispense  with  as  long  as  they  had  him.  “Ego 
breviarium.”  He  himself  was  their  breviary.  Nevertheless, 
the  thirst  for  knowledge  soon  laid  hold  of  his  successors,  and 
the  mere  fact  that  Oxford  and  Cambridge  were  among  their 
first  settlements  helped  to  guide  their  steps  in  the  ways  of 
scientific  investigation.  Roger  Bacon  might  complain  that 
he  was  not  allowed  to  use  manuscripts  enough ; but,  if 


6 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST'S  HOSPITAL 


Francis  had  been  there,  Bacon  would  never  have  been 
allowed  to  know  enough  to  wish  for  more.  Anyhow,  the 
Franciscans  of  the  centuries  that  followed  were  men  of 
learning,  and  Whittington’s  library  was  no  doubt  accepted 
with  gratitude.  It  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Middle 
or  Grecians’  Cloister,  up  to  about  the  year  1832,  when 
the  beautiful,  if  dilapidated,  building,  which  escaped  the 
Fire,  fell  into  the  hands  of  restorer  and  improver.  One 
would  like  to  think  that  both  Coleridge  and  Lamb  had 
the  benefit  of  it ; but  by  their  day  it  had  been  turned  into 
a dormitory.  Still  it  may  be  worth  while  to  record  Stow’s 
description  of  it  as  being  “all  seeled  with  Wainscot,  having 
twentie  eight  desks,  and  eight  double  setles  of  Wainscot.” 
Whittington  “ bare  foure  hundred  pound  ” of  the  cost  of  the 
books  to  fill  it,  and  Doctor  Thomas  Winchelsey  the  rest.” 
Well  may  Mr.  Trollope,  the  naive  historian  of  Christ’s 
Hospital,  remark  that  “ it  seems  that  some  ralaxation  had 
taken  place  in  the  original  rule  of  St.  Francis,  mitigating  its 
extreme  severity.” 

We  need  not  dwell  further  on  the  history  of  the  House  of 
the  Grey  Friars ; indeed  we  have  no  material  to  work  with 
in  constructing  their  subsequent  history.  Their  Chronicler 
looks  out  upon  the  world  ; he  has  little  to  say  of  what 
happened  within  his  own  walls.  Provincial  chapters  of 
“ freeres  ” minors  were  held  there,  he  tells  us,  and  the  Mayor 
and  the  Corporation  paid  an  annual  state  visit  to  the  House 
on  St.  Francis’  Day  from  1508  onwards,  as  they  have  done  to 
the  present  House  on  St.  Matthew’s  Day  since  15 53-  But 
the  time  came  when  the  eye  of  the  Grey  Friars’  Chronicler 
was  turned  suddenly  on  the  fortunes  of  his  own  House,  and 
the  shock  is  so  great  that  something  goes  amiss  with  his  pen 
or  his  presence  of  mind.  His  entry  for  the  sixteenth  year 
of  Henry  VIII.,  A.D.  1524,  is  as  follows:  "Thys  yere  the 
King  and  the  cardinalle  Wolsey  the  ixth  day  of  Marche 
intendyd  to  a come  and  to  see  the  Grayfreeres,  but  the  ware 
lett  tylle  . . .”  The  italicised  words  are  deleted  in  the  original, 
and  what  follows  is  apparently  an  explanation  of  the  mistake. 
“Also  that  day  that  the  Kynge  as  he  came  owte  of  hys 


A 


THE  OLD  HALL  AND  WHITTINGTON’S  LIBRARY 


THE  GREY  FRIARS  . 


7 


chamber  to  come  to  the  Gray  Freeres,  tydynge  was  browte 
hym  that  the  Frenche  Kynge  was  tane  by  the  duke  of 
Burgone.”  A bonfire  at  “ Powlles  churche  dore,”  and  finally, 
a procession  and  Te  Deum  in  the  cathedral  “ on  Sent  Mathu 
daye,”  seem  to  imply  that  public  attention  was  diverted  from 
plundering  the  Friars  to  triumphing  over  the  French.  But 
only  for  a time.  Wolsey  had  settled  the  policy  of  plunder 
in  his  own  mind,  and  he  was  not  to  be  easily  put  off.  Indeed, 
the  very  capture  of  Francis  compelled  him  to  provide  some- 
how the  sinews  for  a war  of  which  he  disapproved.*  True, 
he  often  diverted  the  funds  of  conventual  houses  to  better 
uses,  but  his  present  need  was  money,  and  what  method  of 
raising  it  was  so  simple  as  a “visit”  to  the  Grey  Friars? 
“Thys  yere,”  says  our  Chronicler  in  1525,  “beganne  the 
cardinalle  Wolsey  to  enter  his  visitacioun,”  and  “on  Absolve 
day  doctor  Allyn  beganne  in  the  Gray  Freeres  at  afternone.” 
Clement  VII.  had  given  a bull  for  the  purpose,  and  the 
Franciscans  and  others  appealed  in  vain  against  the  exercise 
of  Wolsey’s  legatine  powers.f  Loud  complaints  also  were 
heard  of  the  harshness  and  unscrupulousness  of  this  same 
Dr.  Allen,  who  by  the  exercise  of  these  qualities  came  to  a 
violent  end  as  Archbishop  of  Dublin. J But  whether  Wolsey 
had  power  to  act  or  not,  and  whether  his  myrmidons  were 
brutes  or  angels,  mattered  little.  A precedent  had  been  set, 
which  Henry  was  not  slow  to  follow  up,  and  ten  years  later 
he  issued  an  instrument  under  the  great  seal  authorising 
Crumwell  and  those  appointed  by  him  “ to  visit  ...  all  and 
singular  . . . monasteries,  both  of  men  and  women,  ...  to 
sequestrate  the  revenues  of  the  church  or  place,  and  keep 
them  in  safe  ward.”  It  was  small  consolation  to  great 
Houses  like  ours  that  the  lesser  were  visited  first ; their  turn 
was  bound  to  come.  The  Franciscans  for  some  reason  or 
other  survived  longer  than  most,  but  the  end  came  in 
November,  1538.  There  is  no  document  in  all  history  more 
pathetic  or  pitiful  than  their  deed  of  surrender.  Trollope 


* cf.  Creighton’s  Wolsey , p.  no. 

+ Gasquet,  Henry  VIII.  and  the  English  Monasteries , vol.  i.  p.  86. 
X Brewer,  Henry  VIII.,  vol.  ii.  p.  270. 


8 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


gives  it  at  length  (on  p.  21)  without  stating  his  authority,  and 
Mr.  J.  A.  Kingdon  (Poynts  and  Grafton , ed.  i895,p.  75)  suggests 
reasonable  doubts  of  its  genuineness  ; but  a few  sentences  will 
show  how  they  said  what  they  were  told  to  say,  and  tried  in 
their  humiliation  to  believe  it  true.  “ We,  the  Warden,  and 
Freers,  of  the  howse  of  Saynt  Francis  in  London,  . . . doo 
profoundly  consider  that  the  perfeccion  of  Christian  buying 
dothe  not  conciste  in  dome  ceremonies,  weryng  of  a grey 
coote,  disgeasing  our  selffe  aftyr  straunge  fassions.”  “ No,” 
the  poor  creatures  proceed,  “ the  very  tru  waye  to  please 
God,  and  to  Hue  a tru  Christian  man  ” is  something  quite 
different,  and  it  consists  in  large  measure  in  conforming 
themselves  to  the  wayward  will  of  their  “ supreme  hed  vndre 
God,  in  erthe,  the  King’s  Majestie.”  Therefore  “ wythe  like 
mutuall  assent  and  consent”  they  resign  into  the  hands  of 
his  “ mooste  noble  grace  ” all  the  “ lands,  tenements,  gardens, 
medowes,  waters,  pondyards,  fedyngs,  pastures,  comens,  rentes, 
reversions,”  and  only  beg  that  they  may  be  appointed  to  such 
livings  as  “other  secular  Priestes  comenly  be  preferryd  vnto.” 
The  document  is  signed  by  Thomas  Chapman,  D.D.,  and 
twenty  brethren,  “whose  signatures,”  says  Trollope  with  the 
scorn  of  a “ C.  H.”  caligraphist,  “ are  illegible,”  though  Mr. 
Kingdon  has  read  them  without  difficulty. 

Thus  the  monastery,  begun  by  a Queen  in  1306,  and  the 
minster  that  sheltered  the  remains  alike  of  the  “she  wolf  of 
France”  and  countless  lesser  folk,  were  turned  by  a King 
from  pious  uses  of  one  sort,  and  there  was  an  interval  before 
they  could  be  directed  to  equally  pious  uses  of  another. 
There  was  no  more  “ Gray  Freeres,”  though  the  name 
haunted  the  House  for  centuries ; but  the  chronicler  goes 
on  as  before,  and  tells  us  that  in  A.D.  i544>  after  it  had 
presumably  lain  empty  for  six  years,  “ before  Crystmas  was 
moche  wyne  tane  of  France  with  their  chyppes,  and  layed  in 
the  churche  sumtyme  the  Gray  Freeres,  alle  the  churche  fulle 
in  every  place  of  it.”  Is  he  a monk  of  the  popular  sort,  this 
Chronicler,  and  does  he  see  a natural  connection  between 
Christmas  and  this  cargo ; or  is  he  a prohibitionist  before  his 
time,  and  does  he  groan  over  the  sacrilege?  On  the  other 


THE  GREY  FRIARS 


9 


hand,  Stow  implies  that  the  church  had  been  robbed  of  all 
its  goods  in  1538,  and  used  as  a store  all  along.*  Neither  of 
them  mentions  the  fact  that  Richard  Grafton  set  up  a print- 
ing press  in  the  church,  in  addition  to  the  one  worked  by 
him  in  a portion  of  what  “Blues”  know  as  the  “Hall-Play.” 
But  the  Chronicler  and  Stow  are  at  one  in  stating  that  on  the 
3rd  of  January,  1547,  the  church  was  reopened,  and  “masse 
sayd  at  the  auteres  with  dyvers  presttes,  and  it  was  namyd 
Crystys  churche  of  the  fundacion  of  Kynge  Henry  the  viij.” 
Our  story  of  Christ’s  Hospital  would  not  be  complete  without 
this  glance  at  those  who  went  before  us.  “ Others  have 
laboured,  and  ye  are  entered  into  their  labours.” 


Survey,  ed.  1603,  p.  320. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

“ We  praise  Thee  for  our  Founders  and  Benefactors.” 

Bishop  Compton’s  C.II.  Prayers. 

WE  are  thus  brought  to  a point  at  which  we  may 
suggest  that  in  regard  to  Christ’s  Hospital  some 
injustice  has  been  done  to  the  work  of  Henry  VIII.  A 
modern  schoolboy  is  said  to  have  defined  him  as  “ a great 
widower,”  and  schoolboys  of  a larger  growth  are  apt  to 
associate  him  with  the  divorce  of  queens  or  the  dissolution 
of  convents  or  the  disestablishment  of  Roman  Catholicism. 
The  candid  investigator  comes  from  his  researches  with  a 
settled  conviction  that  Henry’s  rather  bulky  effigy  ought  at 
this  moment  to  be  looking  down  from  the  niche  over  the 
little  lodge  in  Christ  Church  Passage  upon  every  passer  in 
and  out  of  the  famous  buildings. 

And  justice  to  the  father  involves  no  shadow  of  discredit 
to  the  son.  Edward’s  action  in  the  matter  is  as  clear  as  his 
piety  was  strong  and  his  body  feeble.  Whether  his  ministers 
moulded  his  young  will,  or  his  will  the  ministers,  is  as  much 
a matter  of  surmise  and  guesswork  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  a 
sovereign  of  to-day.  We  can  only  deal  with  the  facts  as  we 
find  them. 

And  first,  the  cause.  The  monasteries,  where  they  were 
not  absolutely  pulled  down,  had  ceased  to  act  as  shelters  for 
the  submerged  tenth  of  the  populace,  or  whatever  the  par- 
ticular fraction  was  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Trollope*  records  a calculation  that  the  religious  houses, 
“ with  their  various  appendages  . . . occupied,  within  the  city 

* Christ's  Hospital,  p.  25. 


10 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  n 


of  London,  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  entire  area ; and  about 
one  fifth  of  the  entire  population  is  supposed  to  have  been 
cloistered  within  their  walls.” 

Whatever  was  at  that  time  the  proportion  of  pauperdom 
to  the  rest  of  the  population,  there  is  no  question  that  the 
Dissolution  was  followed  by  a great  outbreak  of  poverty,  for 
which  there  was  no  present  remedy.  Latimer  had  foreseen 
it,  and  suggested  that  in  each  county  some  conventual  houses 
should  be  left  for  educational  and  eleemosynary  purposes ; 
and  it  is  a pleasure  to  remember  that  he  and  Ridley,  who 
were  not  divided  in  death,  were  at  one  also  in  the  work 
which  led  up  to  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  Hospitals. 

Another  famous  name  must  not  be  omitted  in  this  connec- 
tion. Among  the  letters  in  the  Cotton  Library  is  one  from 
Sir  Richard  Gresham,  whose  son  enriched  the  City  with 
benefactions  that  are  still  beneficent.  The  old  man  writes 
in  1538  to  Henry,  his  “most  repuysant,  and  noble  Prince,” 
his  “ most  dradd,  beloved,  and  naturall  Soveraigne  Lorde.” 
His  duty  obliges  him  to  approach  the  King’s  Majesty,  for  he 
is  his  “ Lieuetenant  and  Mayer  ” of  the  City  of  London,  and 
somebody  must  come  to  the  “ ayde  and  comfort  of  the  poor, 
syke,  blynde,  aged*  and  impotent  persons  beyng  not  able  to 
help  themselffis,  nor  havyng  no  place  certen  where  they  may 
be  refreshed  or  lodged  at,  tyll  they  be  holpen  and  cured  of 
their  diseases  and  sicknes.”  For  this  he  is  not  slow  to 
suggest  a remedy.  “ So  it  is,  most  gracious  Lorde,  that  here 
and  withyn  the  Cytie  of  London  be  iii.  Hospitalls,  or 
Spytalls,  commonly  called  Seynt  George’s  Spytall,  Seynt 
Barthilmewes  Spytall,  and  Seynt  Thomas  Spytall,  and 
the  New  Abbey  of  Tower  Hill,  founded  of  good  devotion  by 
auncient  Fathers,  and  endowed  with  great  possessions  and 
rentes,  only  for  the  releeffe,  comfort,  and  helping  of  the 
poore  and  impotent  people  not  beyng  able  to  help  them- 
selffs, and  not  to  the  maintenance  of  chanons,  priests,  and 
monks  to  live  in  pleasure.”  Let  these  foundations,  Gresham 
suggested,  be  used  for  their  original  purpose.  Let  the  King 
give  orders  that  the  Mayor  of  the  City  of  London  “and 
his  brethren  the  Aldermen  for  the  tyme  beyng,  shall  and 


i2  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


may  from  henceforth,  have  the  order,  disposicion,  rule,  and 
governaunce,  both  of  all  the  lands,  tenements,  and  revenevves 
apperteyning  and  belongyn  to  the  said  hospitalls,  governours 
of  theym,  and  of  the  ministers  which  be,  or  shall  be,  withyn 
them.”  * 

Thus  the  first  Gresham  sketched  the  project  which  was 
afterwards  to  take  so  definite  a shape.  The  matter  could 
not  possibly  be  settled  all  in  a moment.  We  need  be  at  no 
pains  to  invent  reasons,  as  Trollope  does,f  for  the  delay; 
nor  was  Henry,  as  far  as  we  know  him,  the  man  to  be  moved 
by  “ a superstitious  dread  of  his  approaching  end,”  of  which 
he  can  scarcely  have  received  very  definite  information.  He 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  the  foundation  of  the  Royal 
Hospitals  was  an  economic  necessity.  The  indenture  and 
the  letters  patent  were  made  out  in  due  course.  Both  bear 
the  date  of  December  27th,  1 546,  “ in  the  xxxviijth  yeare  of 
the  raigne.”  The  indenture  in  its  preamble  sets  forth  the 
initial  reason  of  the  foundation,  as  already  explained.  It 
is  the  result  of  Henry’s  “ consideringe  the  myserable  estate 
of  the  poore  aged  sick  sore  and  ympotente  people  as  well 
men  as  women  lyinge  and  goinge  about  begginge  in  the 
common  streates  of  the  saide  Cittye  of  London  and  the 
suburbes  of  the  same  ” — not  only  to  their  own  “ greate  paine 
and  sorrow,”  for  they  were  poor  and  must  stand  their 
chance,  but  “ to  the  greate  infeccion  hurte  and  noyance  of 
his  Grace’s  lovinge  subjectes  which  of  necessitie  muste  dailie 
goe  and  passe  by.” 

Five-and-thirty  years  later  John  Howes’  Contemporaneous 
Account  gives  us  exactly  the  same  factor  in  the  great 
result.  “ Thirdly,”  he  says,  “ in  the  Latter  tyme  of  that 
moste  famous  and  worthie  prynce  King  Henry  the  eighte 
after  yc  Wynning  of  Bullaigne  & ending  of  the  King’s 
warres  yt  appeareth  that  there  were  greate  nombers  of 
poore  lame  ydell  & maysterles  men  dispersed  into  dyvers 
parts  of  this  Realme,  but  chiefely  aboute  this  Cittie  of 
London.”  % Clearly,  then,  there  was  a cause.  The  in- 

* Cotton  Library,  Cleop.  E.  4,  p.  222;  Strype,  Eccl.  Mem.,  vol.  i.  p.  423. 

f p.  28.  t cf.  Malcolm’s  Lmdinium , vol.  ii.  p.  554- 


THE  CHURCH-YARD  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH 

FROM  A I'HOTOtiR Al*H  BY  .MU.  FKKEMAN  DOVASTON 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  13 

denture  came  none  too  soon.  What  did  it  promise  to  give  ? 
From  its  wilderness  of  legal  phraseology  we  can  extract  the 
following.  It  granted  to  the  City  the  Church  and  site  of 
the  house  “of  the  late  Gray  Freyrs,”  the  Fratry,  the  Library, 
the  Dortor,  and  the  Chapter  House,  “ all  the  land  and  soile 
called  the  greate  Cloyster  and  the  littell  Cloyster,”  various 
buildings,  some  in  the  hands  of  specified  occupiers,  some 
already  “voyde”;  also  “the  late  Hospitall  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mewe  in  West  Smythfield  nigh  London,”  the  Parish  Churches 
of  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Ewen,  and  as  much  of  the  Parish 
of  St.  Sepulchre  as  lay  within  “ the  precincte  and  scite  ” of 
the  Grey  Friars.  The  King  reserved  to  himself  and  his 
successors  the  revenues  of  certain  houses  and  lands  belonging 
to  St.  Bartholomew’s,  but  assigned  to  the  Corporation  of 
London  the  tithes,  offerings,  and  other  “ spirituall  profittes  ” 
of  the  Churches  of  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Ewen  and  of  the 
Grey  Friars,  while  the  Church  of  the  latter  was  to  serve  for 
these  united  parishes  under  the  name  of  Christ  Church, 
which  it  retained  and  handed  on  to  its  successor,  as  rebuilt 
by  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  Provision  was  further  made  that 
it  should  always  have  “ one  preist  sufficient  learned  to 
declare  preach  and  teach  the  worde  of  GOD  trulie  and 
sincerely  to  the  comon  people  which  shall  be  called  Vicar 
thear,”  and  also  “ one  other  preist  which  shall  be  called  the 
Visitor  of  Newgat.”  The  Vicar  of  Christ  Church  was  to 
receive  his  stipend  from  the  Corporation,  “ one  annuitie  or 
annuall  pencion  of  twentye  sixe  poundes  thirteen  shillinges 
and  fowrepence  and  a sufficient  mansion  for  his  habitacion,” 
the  advowson  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
Corporation,  as  the  Governors  of  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital. 

It  was  on  the  day  of  the  reopening  of  the  Church  (January 
3rd,  1547)  that  Ridley,  from  Paul’s  Cross,  announced  to  the 
City  the  gift  of  the  “ House  of  the  Poor.”  How  far  then 
was  this  a generous  arrangement  ? How  is  it  in  accord  with 
the  greed  of  the  Tudors,  and  of  Henry  in  particular?  This 
at  least  may  be  urged,  that  the  King  cannot  have  gained 
very  much  from  the  bargain.  It  is  true  that  he  was  only 
disgorging  what  he  had  already  appropriated,  but  St. 


i4  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Bartholomew’s  was  estimated  at  the  Dissolution  to  be  worth 
,£304  1 6s.  5 d.,  and  John  Howes  states  that  he  gave  with  it 
a yearly  income  of  £380  4s.  2 d.  The  discredit  of  the 
transaction  appears  dimly  in  the  preliminary  negotiations ; 
for  Henry  had  plainly  endeavoured  to  make  the  Corporation 
pay  for  St.  Bartholomew’s  and  the  rest  of  the  “ gift  ” ; but 
happily  there  were  hard-headed  men  in  the  City,  then  as  now, 
and  the  Tudor  found  them,  as  he  confessed,  very  “pinch- 
pence”  in  their  transactions.  Apparently  then  he  made  a 
virtue  of  necessity.  He  was  the  “ dator,”  not  the  “ hilaris  dator  ” 
of  Apostolic  precept.  “ This  was  a noble  foundacon  of  this 
worthie  King  in  the  latter  ende  of  his  raigne,”  says  “Dignitie” 
in  Howes’  Dialogue , only  six-and-thirty  years  after  the  event ; 
“ his  fame  shall  never  die  so  longe  as  the  worlde  endurethe.” 
But  it  came  to  pass  a few  months  after  the  signing  of  the 
Indentures  that  Henry  died,  and  the  historian  of  Christ’s 
Hospital  finds  himself  looking  into  a gap  of  five  years  with- 
out the  wherewithal  to  fill  it.  What  use  was  made  during  the 
earlier  part  of  Edward’s  reign  of  the  “Grey  Friars”  property? 
How  far  did  it  fulfil  its  object  as  a House  of  Detention  for 
vagabonds  and  as  a shelter  for  the  poor  ? Did  it  do  any  educa- 
tional work  ? It  is  almost  impossible  to  say.  Some  informa- 
tion may  be  derived  from  one  or  two  entries  in  the  records 
of  the  City  Fathers.  Here  is  one  belonging  to  the  first  year 
of  Edward  VI.,  dated  July  14th,  which  I transliterate  into 
modern  English  : “ Item  this  day  Sir  Martin  Bowes,  Knight, 
and  Mr.  Barne  and  Mr.  Hynde,  Aldermen,  William  Rawlyns 
and  Thomas  Lodge,  Grocers,  and  George  Tadlowe,  Haber- 
dasher, are  assigned  to  receive  all  the  money  coming  towards 
the  poor  of  the  devotion  of  the  people  through  the  City 
monthly,  and  also  to  survey  the  works  of  Christ  Church  and 
of  the  Hospital  for  the  poor.”  There  are  other  entries  on 
July  26th  and  September  29th  in  the  same  year,  dealing  with 
Mr.  Alderman  Hynde’s  discharge  of  his  duties  in  this  matter, 
which  had  been  so  “well  begone,”  and  there  is  reason  for 
supposing  that  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital  and  what  would 
ultimately  be  Christ’s  Hospital  were  being  benefited  and 
developed  concurrently.  The  next  pertinent  entry  in  the 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  15 

same  records  brings  us  close  to  the  end  of  these  five  mysteri- 
ous years.  It  is  again  the  14th  of  July,  but  the  date  is  1552, 
and  we  are  within  six  months  of  the  beginning  of  the  occu- 
pation. “ At  this  Court,”  it  says,  “ for  divers  urgent  considera- 
tions moving  the  same,  it  was  agreed  that  there  shall  be  as 
much  of  the  orphanage  (i.e.  the  orphan  fund)  of  the  nexte 
orphanes  that  shall  fall,  where  any  part  thereof  may  reason- 
ably be  taken  and  be  spared,  brought  into  this  Court,  as  shall 
amount  to  .£300,  the  same  to  be  lent  and  delivered  im- 
mediately to  the  Governors  of  the  House  of  the  Poor 
towards  the  finishing  of  their  new  frame  in  St.  Nicholas 
Shambles.” 

This  extract  is  at  once  difficult  and  important.  The 
“ House  of  the  Poor  ” was  then,  and  for  all  legal  purposes 
still  is,  the  name  of  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital ; but  the 
“new  frame  in  St.  Nicholas  Shambles”  may  well  have  some 
reference  to  Christ’s  Hospital.  Moreover,  the  grant  of  £3 00 
was  to  go  towards  “ finishing  ” the  work,  which  must  clearly 
have  been  begun  at  an  earlier  date  than  we  give  it  credit  for. 
Stow  dates  the  beginning  of  “ the  preparing  of  the  Grey 
Friers  house  in  London  for  the  poore  fatherless  children  ” 
from  July  26th,  1552,*  but  in  the  above  extract  from  the 
Corporation  records,  written  “this  day,”  a grant  is  made 
towards  “finishing”  the  work  on  July  14th,  1552,  or  twelve 
days  before  Stow’s  date  for  beginning,  which  could  be  got 
over  if  we  read  “furnish”  for  “finish.”  The  difficulty  is  a 
small  one,  if  we  can  once  persuade  ourselves  that  the  years 
that  followed  Henry’s  original  grant  were  not  wasted,  that 
money  was  being  raised,  and  interest  was  being  excited. 
The  City  had  set  its  hand  to  the  plough,  and  the  City  has 
a way  of  not  turning  back. 

But  if  the  actual  day  of  the  inception  of  the  great  task 
eludes  us,  we  are  on  sure  ground  when  we  open  the  ex- 
quisitely written  original  “account,”  dated  1552-8,  which 
is  still  in  the  custody  of  the  Clerk.  After  a statement  of 
moneys  received  from  the  ward-boxes,  from  the  great  box 
in  the  cloister,  and  from  individual  citizens,  it  begins,  in  July, 
* Annales  (ed.  1615),  p.  608. 


1 6 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


1552,  with  payments  of  “rewards”  to  carpenters,  bricklayers, 
et  hoc  genus  o?n?ie.  And  it  is  only  when  we  come  to  the 
month  of  November  that  provisions  were  needed  for  inmates. 
We  are  however  able,  by  means  of  Howes’  Contempora- 
neous Account , to  trace  the  steps  between  January  1547 
and  November  1552  a little  more  definitely,  at  any  rate 
during  the  last  part  of  the  period  : “ In  the  latter  yeres  of 
King  Edwarde,”  he  says,  “ the  officers  began  to  be  necligent 
and  chefely  the  bedells,  so  that  the  streates  and  lanes  in 
London  began  to  swarme  wth  beggers  and  roges  ...  so  that 
St.  Bartholomewes  hospitall  was  not  able  to  receyve  the  tenth 
part  of  those  that  then  were  to  be  provided  for.” 

The  cry  went  up  from  the  pulpits  of  London  that  further 
help  was  needed.  Edward  VI.  has  been  the  victim  at  various 
hands  of  the  most  extravagant  eulogy,  and  indeed  one  who 
came  between  Henry  and  Mary  had  a chance  to  deserve 
praise.  Whatever  was  his  real  character  or  virtue,  he  was 
certainly  not  deaf  to  a plain  and  practical  petition,  and  the 
Court  Preachers  were  not  slow  to  make  it.  Listen,  for  in- 
stance, to  Thomas  Leaver.  It  is  the  Fourth  Sunday  in  Lent, 
and  the  Gospel  for  the  day  is  the  Feeding  of  the  Five 
Thousand.  In  the  middle  of  his  sermon  the  good  Master 
of  St.  John’s  College  turns  to  the  King:  “O  merciful  Lord, 
what  a number  of  poor,  feeble,  halt,  blind,  lame,  sickly,  yea 
with  idle  vagabonds  and  dissembling  caitiffs  mixed  among 
them,  lye  and  creep,  begging  in  the  miry  streets  of  London 
and  Westminster?  ” What,  he  asks,  can  be  the  use  of  bidding 
them  sit  down  in  quietness  and  industry,  unless  care  be  taken 
that  there  shall  be  enough  “grass  in  the  place  ’’?  On  a mind 
young  and  receptive,  such  as  Edward’s  apparently  was,  an 
appeal  of  this  nature  could  not  fail  of  its  effect. 

Still  more  was  he  touched  by  the  pleading  of  Ridley.  The 
famous  incident,  on  whose  main  facts  it  is  impossible  in  view 
of  the  evidence  to  cast  the  slightest  doubt,  is  mentioned 
briefly  by  Howes,  and  with  some  detail  by  Stow,  who  had  it 
from  Richard  Grafton.  It  will  therefore  be  the  simplest  way 
to  take  it  from  Grafton  himself  ( Chronicle , ed.  1809,  vol.  ii. 

p.  529):— 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  17 

< Not  long  after  the  death  of  the  sayde  Duke  (Somerset) 
and  his  complices,  it  chaunced  the  reuerend  father  in  God 
Maister  Doctor  Ridley  then  Bishop  of  London  to  preach 
before  the  ICinges  Maiestie  at  Westminster.  In  the  which 
sermon  he  made  a fruitfull  and  Godly  exhortation  to  the 
riche  to  be  merciful  vnto  the  poore,  and  also  moued  such  as 
were  in  aucthoritie  to  trauaile  by  some  charitable  waye  and 
meane  to  comfort  and  relieue  them.  Wherevpon  the  Kinges 
Maiestie  beyng  a Prince  of  such  towardnesse  and  vertue  for 
hys  yeres  as  England  before  neuer  brought  forth,  and  the 
same  also  beyng  so  well  treyned  and  brought  vp  in  al  Godly 
knowledge,  as  well  by  his  dere  Vncle  the  late  Protector  as  also 
by  his  verteous  and  learned  Scholemaisters,  was  so  carefull  of 
the  good  gouernment  of  the  realme,  and  chiefly  to  do  and 
preferre  such  thinges  as  most  specially  touched  the  honor 
of  almightie  GOD.  And  vnderstandyng  that  a great  number 
of  poore  people  did  swarme  in  this  realme,  and  chiefly  in  the 
Citie  of  London,  and  that  no  good  order  was  taken  for  them, 
did  sodainly  and  of  himselfe  send  to  the  sayd  Bishop  as- 
soone  as  his  Sermon  was  ended,  willyng  him  not  to  depart 
vntill  that  he  had  spoken  with  him  (and  this  that  I nowe 
write  was  the  verye  report  of  the  sayde  Bishop  Ridley)  and 
accordyng  to  the  Kynges  commaundement  he  gaue  hys  at- 
tendaunce.  And  so  soone  as  the  Kinges  Maiestie  was  at 
leysure,  he  Called  for  him  and  made  him  come  vnto  him  in 
a great  Galery  at  Westminster,  wherein  to  his  knowledge, 
and  the  Kinge  also  told  him  so,  there  was  present  no  mo 
persons  than  they  two,  and  therfore  made  him  sit  downe  in 
one  chaire,  and  he  himselfe  in  another,  which  as  it  seemed 
were  before  the  coming  of  the  Bishop  there  purposely  set, 
and  caused  the  Bishop  mauger  his  teeth  to  be  couered,  and 
then  entred  communication  with  him  in  this  sort,  first  geuing 
him  most  heartie  thankes  for  his  Sermon  and  good  exhorta- 
tion, and  therein  rehersed  such  speciall  thinges  as  he  had 
noted,  and  that  so  many  that  the  Bishop  sayde,  Truly,  truly, 
(for  that  was  commonly  his  othe),  I could  neuer  haue  thought 
that  excellency  to  haue  bene  in  his  grace,  that  I behelde  and 
saw  in  him.  At  the  last  the  Kings  Maiestie  much  com- 
mended him  for  his  exhortation  for  the  reliefe  of  the  poore,  but 
my  Lorde  sayth  he,  ye  willed  such  as  are  in  aucthoritie  to  be 
carefull  thereof  and  to  deuise  some  good  order  for  theyr  re- 
liefe, wherein  I thinke  you  meant  me,  for  I am  in  highest  place, 
and  therefore  am  the  first  that  must  make  answere  vuto  GOD 
for  my  negligence  if  I shoulde  not  be  carefull  therein,  know- 
yng  it  to  be  the  expresse  commaundement  of  almightie  God 

c 


i8  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


to  haue  compassion  of  his  poore  and  nedie  members  for  whom 
we  must  make  an  accompt  vnto  him.  And  truely  my  Lorde 
I am  before  all  things  most  willing  to  trauayle  that  way,  and 
I doubt  nothing  of  your  long  and  approved  wisedome  and 
learnyng,  who  hauyng  such  good  zeale  as  wissheth  helpe 
vnto  them,  but  that  also  you  haue  had  some  conference  with 
others  what  wayes  are  best  to  be  taken  therein,  the  which  I am 
desirous  tovnderstand,and  therefore  I pray  you  say  your  minde. 

‘ The  Bishop  thinkyng  least  of  that  matter,  and  beyng 
amased  to  here  the  wisedome  and  earnest  zeale  of  the  King 
was,  as  he  sayd  himselfe,  so  astonied  that  he  could  not  well 
tell  what  to  say.  But  after  some  pawse  sayd  that,  as  he 
thought,  at  this  presence  for  some  entraunce  to  be  had  it 
were  good  to  practise  with  the  Citie  of  London,  because  the 
number  of  the  poore  there  are  very  great,  and  the  Citizens 
are  many  and  also  wise.  And  he  doubted  not  but  they  were 
also  both  pitifull  and  mercifull,  as  the  Maior  and  his  brethren 
and  other  the  worshipfull  of  the  sayd  Citie,  and  that  if  it 
would  please  the  Kinges  Maiestie  to  direct  his  gracious  letter 
vnto  the  Maior  of  London,  willyng  hym  to  call  vnto  him 
such  assistaunce  as  he  should  thinke  meete  to  consult  of 
thys  matter  for  some  order  to  be  taken  therein,  he  doubted 
not  but  good  should  folow  thereof.  And  he  himselfe 
promised  the  King  to  be  one  that  would  earnestly  trauaile 
therein.  The  King  forthwith  not  onely  graunted  his  letter, 
but  made  the  Bishop  tary  vntill  the  same  was  written,  and 
his  hand  and  signet  set  therevnto,  and  commaunded  the 
Bishop  not  only  to  deliuer  the  same  letter  himselfe,  but 
also  to  signifie  vnto  the  Maior  that  it  was  the  King’s  speciall 
request  and  expresse  commaundement,  that  the  Maior  should 
therein  trauaile,  and  assoone  as  he  might  conueniently  geue 
knowledge  vnto  him  how  farre  he  had  proceded  therein. 
The  Bishop  was  so  joyous  of  the  hauing  of  this  letter,  and 
that  he  had  nowe  an  occasion  to  trauaile  in  that  good  matter, 
wherein  he  was  merveylous  zelous,  that  nothing  could  more 
haue  pleased  and  delighted  him.  Wherefore  the  same  night 
he  came  to  the  Maior  of  London,  who  then  was  Sir  Richard 
Dobbes  Knight  and  deliuered  the  Kinges  letter,  and  shewed 
his  message  with  effect.  . . . And  the  next  day  being  Monday 
he  desired  the  Bishop  of  London  to  dine  with  him,  and 
agaynst  that  time  the  Maior  promised  that  he  would  sende 
for  such  men  as  he  thought  meetest  to  talke  of  this  matter, 
and  so  he  did.  And  sent  first  for  two  Aldermen  and  six 
Commoners,  and  afterwards  were  appoynted  more  to  the 
number  of  xxiiii.’ 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  19 

For  the  details  of  their  proposals  we  go  to  “ Howes  ” 

I.  (i.).  The  House  of  the  Grey  Friars  must  become  a 
hospital  for  “ fatherless  children  and  other  poore  mens  chil- 
dren,” who  could  there  find  meat,  drink,  clothes,  lodging,  and 
learning,  and  “ officers  to  attende  vppon  them. 

(ii.)  Considering  “ the  corrupte  nature  of  the  children  whoe 
being  taken  from  the  dounghill  mighte  one  infecte  another,” 
Finsbury  Court  should  be  acquired  as  a sanatorium. 

(iii.)  Infants  should  be  kept  in  the  country  till  they  were 
old  enough  to  be  instructed  ; “ but  allwaies  at  Easter 
broughte  home.” 

II.  For  the  lame  and  the  aged  shelter,  food,  and  “chirur- 
gians”  should  be  provided  at  St.  Thomas’  Hospital  “in 
Sowthwarke.” 

III.  “ Ydell  and  lustie  roges,”  men  and  women  alike,  must 
be  consigned  to  a workhouse. 

IV.  Lazars  must  be  kept  out  of  the  streets  on  a weekly 
pension. 

Such,  for  our  purpose,  were  the  principal  proposals  in  their 
“ booke,”  which  was  duly  delivered  and  apparently  approved 
by  Edward  ; for  the  nine  persons  who  were  the  original 
members  of  the  Committee  immediately  increased  their 
number  to  thirty,  and  “ did  comonly  mete  every  daie  in  the 
inner  Chamber  in  the  Gvildhall  ” ; there  were  many  also  in 
the  City  who  gave  the  Lord  Mayor  no  rest  “ tyll  they  had 
order  to  proceade  & power  gyven  them  to  doe  all  that  was 
nedefull.”  Ridley’s  parting  word  to  the  Lord  Mayor  is  in 
clear  accord  with  all  that  we  find  here : “ The  Lord  wroughte 
with  thee  and  gaue  thee  the  consent  of  thy  brethren.”  The 
constitution  of  the  “ xxxtie  brethren  ” is  worth  noticing : six 
were  Aldermen,  of  whom  two  had  “passed  the  chair,”  the  rest, 
citizens  nominated  by  the  City — a purely  civic  body,  establish- 
ing at  the  very  first  the  close  connection  which  has  always  till 
now  bound  together  the  Corporation  and  Christ’s  Hospital. 

Having  constituted  themselves  guardians  of  the  trust, 
which  as  yet  involved  only  a building  wherein  to  shelter 
the  objects  of  their  care,  they  proceeded  to  convince  them- 


20  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST'S  HOSPITAL 


selves  and  the  public  of  the  need  of  such  work  as  theirs. 
In  touch  with  the  City  and  its  government,  they  would  make 
the  City  supply  the  necessary  information.  “ The  Aldermen  of 
every  Warde  & the  Wardeines  of  every  Companye  broughte  in 
theire  reportes  severallye  of  every  of  the  sortes  of  the  poore,” 
under  the  heads  of  “ ffatherles  children”  (300) — “sore  and 
sicke” — “poore  men  overburdened  with  theire  children”  (350) 
— “ aged  ” — “ decayed  householders  ” — “ ydell  vagabondes.”  * 
Either  John  Howes  was  weak  in  arithmetic,  or  there  is  a 
locus  spinosus  in  the  manuscript,  for  the  total  he  gives  does 
not  tally  with  the  details.  The  figures  that  concern  us  are 
those  given  above,  and  the  whole  number,  according  to 
Howes,  was  2,160,  which  is  not  surprisingly  large,  consider- 
ing the  motley  array  of  its  constituents,  but  is  sufficiently 
appalling  for  all  that.  Therefore,  at  the  outset  of  their  enter- 
prise, they  had  to  sit  down  and  count  the  cost,  the  place  of 
their  daily  meeting  being,  as  before,  “ the  inner  Chamber  in 
the  Guildhall.”  To  their  everlasting  credit,  “they  fyrste 
thoughte  good  to  begynne  wth  themselves.”  According  to 
their  position  and  ability,  they  gave  each  their  contribution, 
^10  or  £20  as  the  case  might  be.  Two  sheriffs’  fines  were 
also  granted,  a matter  of  £200,  and  the  result  of  the  whole 
“ presse  ” was  ^748,  “ or  there  abouts.”  After  so  self-denying 
an  ordinance  they  were  not  ashamed  to  look  further  afield, 
and  a statement  of  Stow  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  City 
were  summoned  to  Church  and  harangued  by  Sir  Richard 
Dobbs  and  the  aldermen  almost  makes  us  think  that  Dean 
Stanley’s  action  in  inviting  a layman  to  lecture  in  West- 
minster Abbey  was  after  all  not  so  startling  and  original. 
The  nearer  and  better  authority  of  Howes  puts  a different 
complexion  upon  the  action  of  our  good  Governors.  They 
divided  themselves,  he  tells  us,  into  two  companies,  called  to- 
gether “ the  preachers  mynisters,  churche  wardeines  and  syde- 
men,”  and  exhorted  them  to  obtain  from  their  parishioners 
“ a francke  benevolence  and  wekely  pencion.”  They  did 
better  still.  If  they  could  not  mount  the  pulpits  in  propria 
persona , at  least  they  meant  to  be  heard  by  proxy.  They 

* Howes,  Contemporaneous  Account,  p.  II. 


IL unites  wolpitdtt  ncctra  itm 
"tehat  fame  kicltacb  Bo|)l 
Mo  careful!  'ffide  in  pouemm 
9Ufo  a benefactor  aojo  , at 
^tsljafc  pirture  fjmir  ft  is  fan 
to  iaiitatr  l]is  It  citium  a it 


a a })ftuinge  dcoe  of  ]pitfir , 
fctoas  ataufofjnnoft  ianiritif 
rnt  anti  fmtherci)  moche  tl)c  fame 
$ 3oueti  to  ice  it  frame  , >-> 
uc  frit,  to  putt  fad  •f'ttuo.ltt  m mmtr 
risers  goi)  i)atje  us  airinor  . 


SIR  RICHARD  DORRS 

FKOM  A PHOTOGRAPH  UY  MR.  CHARLES  E.  BROWNE  OF  THE  PICTURE  IN  THE 
COURT  ROOM 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  21 

printed  and  circulated  “a  very  fyne  wittie  and  learned 
oracon,”  giving  a copy  to  every  minister  and  preacher  the 
better  to  instruct  and  persvvade  the  people  in  every  paryshe 
to  give  liberallye,”  * and,  presumably,  the  parsons  pocketed 
their  pride  and  did  as  they  were  commanded. 

Thus  this  Tudor  “Hospital  Sunday”  is  not  without  a 
suggestion  for  the  management  of  its  modern  representative. 
Nay,  so  little  have  the  methods  of  collecting  money  changed 
or  advanced  in  the  last  four  centuries  that  “ boxes  were 
distributed  just  as  now,  in  which  householders  might  “ gather 
of  their  ghests  theire  benevolence  to  that  good  worcke.’ 
The  City  was  canvassed  in  its  Companies,  the  populace  was 
harangued  at  “ Pawles  Crosse,”  and  in  response  to  the 
canvassing  and  the  preaching  “ the  worcke  was  so  generally 
well  lyked  ” that  money  was  given  freely,  a proof  not  merely 
of  the  popularity  of  the  object,  but  much  more  of  the  need 
it  was  meant  to  supply.  Once  more,  to  mark  the  public 
sense  of  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  withal  to  prove  that 
in  such  matters  the  sixteenth  century  was  well  abreast  of  the 
mendicant  devices  of  the  twentieth,  a slip  of  paper  with 
a blank  space  for  the  amount  of  his  subscription,  or  in  the 
words  of  the  Chronicler,  a “ byll  prynted  wherein  there  was  a 
glass  wyndowe  left  open,”  was  given  to  each  householder  to  be 
filled  up. 

The  upshot  of  all  this  effort  was  so  large  a contribution 
that  the  Thirty  felt  justified  in  going  to  the  Corporation  and 
in  demanding  that  they  should  do  their  part.  The  City 
Fathers,  not  to  be  outdone,  gave  “an  hundrethe  pownds 
and  5011  a yere  Lande,”  and  though  the  land  was  afterwards 
“tourned  over”  to  St.  Thomas’s  Hospital,  the  moral  effect 
of  the  gift  remains  in  the  close  ties  that  should  still  bind  the 
School  to  the  City  and  the  City  to  the  School.  The  houses 
of  refuge  were  more  or  less  ready  to  their  hand.  For  want 
of  funds  it  would  appear  that  the  “Grey  Friars”  had  been 
put  to  hardly  any  use,  and  at  the  moment  we  have  reached 
was  absolutely  untenanted,  save  by  “ a nomber  of  hoores  & 
roges,”  and  save  that  in  it  “ there  laie  one  Thomas  Bryckett, 

* Ibid.,  p.  12. 


22  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Vicar  of  Chrystes  churche,”  the  first  incumbent  under  the 
new  charter  already  described.  He  was  not  averse  to  a 
bargain  ; the  Governors  “ compounded  and  boughte  all  his 
tables  beadsteads  & other  things”  and  so  got  rid  of  him. 
Then  nothing  stood  between  them  and  the  beginning  of  the 
occupation  of  the  buildings  on  the  site  that  time  has  made 
so  famous.  Parson  Bryckett’s  lodging  became  “ a compting 
house  & lodging  for  their  clarcke.”  The  fabric  in  general 
was  much  out  of  repair ; it  needed  a responsible  officer 
to  watch  over  it,  and  the  money  that  had  been  subscribed 
called  for  careful  husbandry.  It  was  natural,  then,  that 
“ these  xxxtie  psons  thoughte  yt  good  to  make  choyce  of 
Officers.”  The  first  of  an  able  line  of  Treasurers  was 
Thomas  Roe,  or  Rowe,  afterwards  Lord  Mayor  and  Knight, 
though  it  is  questionable  if  he  ever  assumed  the  office.  It 
says  something  for  the  continuity  of  things  that  the  present 
Treasurer,  if  his  life  is  spared,  will  be  Lord  Mayor  and 
has  just  filled  the  ancient  office  of  Sheriff.  Roe  was 
succeeded,  or  perhaps  at  once  replaced,  by  Richard  Grafton, 
the  “King’s  Printer.”  Under  him  and  his  colleagues  the 
work  got  under  weigh. 

In  Howes’  quaint  dialogue  “Dignitie,”  the  convenient  person 
who  leads  up  to  all  the  desirable  subjects  becomes,  after  the 
long  preface,  so  excited  at  the  hope  of  being  at  last  allowed 
to  read  the  first  chapter  that,  even  at  the  risk  of  postponing 
that  pleasure,  he  demands  a list  of  “ these  good  Governors.” 
The  reader  may  feel  interest  enough  in  the  matter  to  be 
ready  to  make  a similar  sacrifice  and  to  let  the  honest 
chronicler  speak  for  himself : — 


‘ Whereuppon  the  Governo™  meeting  at  the  Gvildhalle 
agreed  to  mete  all  in  the  Compting  house  made  for  the 
Governo™  in  Christes  Hospitall  on  the  vith  daie  of  October 
1552.  At  wch  time  and  place  they  mette  whose  names  here- 
after followe.  Viz. 


Aldermen.  Sr  Martyn  Bowes 
Sr  Andrewe  Judde 
Sr John  Olyve 
Mr  Jarveis 
Mr  Hewetts 


John  Browne 
William  Chester 
Thomas  Lodge 
Guye  Waed 
John  Blundell 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  23 


Thomas  Bartlett 
Clement  Newce 
William  Crompton 
John  Callthroppe 
Mr  Lonne 


Mr  Heywarde 
Walter  Younge 
Thomas  Ffenton 
Henry  Ffisher 
Jesper  Ffisher 
Thomas  Locke 
Mr  Essexe 
Thomas  Eaton 


Richarde  Hill 
George  Toedlovve 
Thomas  Hunte 
William  Peterson 
Edwarde  Wythers 
John  Vickers 
Richarde  Grafton.’ 


The  most  memorable  name  in  the  list  is  that  of  Richard 
Grafton,  the  first  active  Treasurer  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  to 
whose  life  and  work  Mr.  Kingdon  has  devoted  such  fruitful 
study.  Grafton  had  behind  him,  at  the  moment  when  Christ’s 
Hospital  was  started,  an  adventurous  career,  which  there 
is  no  need  here  to  follow  in  detail.  It  has  already  been 
mentioned  that  latterly  his  work  as  a printer  had  been 
carried  on  within  the  Grey  Friars,  perhaps  within  the  church 
itself.  Thus  “ the  Prymer  ” in  English  and  Latin  was 
“ printed  in  the  House  late  Graye  Freers  by  Richard  Grafton 
and  Edward  Whytchurch.”  Mr.  Sidney  Lee,  in  the  Dictionary 
of  National  Biography,  quotes  Machyn’s  statement  that 
Grafton  was  “chief  master”  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  and  men- 
tions a suggestion  “ that  Grafton  resided  there  in  an  official 
capacity.”  Of  the  “official  capacity”  there  is  no  doubt  at 
all.  Early  in  the  autumn  of  1552  he  was  appointed  one  of 
the  “ Surveyors  to  see  the  worckes  goe  forwards,”  and  on 
October  6th  he  was  in  the  Counting  House  as  one  of  the 
thirty  Governors.  He  became  Treasurer  in  1553  and  served 
the  office  for  four  years ; but  there  was  no  official  residence 
for  the  Treasurer  at  that  period,  and  if  Grafton  resided  in 
the  Grey  Friars,  it  must  have  been  in  the  house  which  he 
occupied  for  the  purposes  of  his  business,  and  for  which  no 
doubt,  when  the  Hospital  was  properly  organised,  he  paid 
rent  to  himself  as  its  Treasurer. 

But  the  executive  functions  and  the  daily  supervision 


24  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


needed  hands  and  heads  less  occupied  with  commercial 
duties  than  those  of  the  Thirty.  So  again  we  go  to  our 
chronicler  * for  a list  of  the  officers  chosen.  Viz. : — 


Wardeine  of  ye 
house 

Clarke  . 

Stewarde 

Buttler 

Under-buttler  . 
Cooke  . 

Porters 


Gramer  Schoole 
Mayster 
Gramer  Usher 

A Teacher  to  write  . 

Schoole-Maisters  for 
the  Petties  A.B.C. 

A schoole-Maister 
for  Musicke 
Chirurgione 

Chirurgione 

A Barbor 

A Taylor 


j£i.  s.  d. 

John  Vickers  [possibly  the 
Governor  of  that  name] 
who  had  yerelye  for  his 
paines  & service  a gowne 
clothe  of  . . .2134 

John  Watson  whose  fee  and 

lyverye  was  . . . 10  O O 

William  Smoothing  whose 

fee  was  yerely  . .6134 

Thomas  Mason  whose  yerely 

fee  was  . . .6134 

William  Benne  whose  yerely 

fee  was  . . .200 

Anthonye  Ideson  whose 

yerely  fee  was  . .800 

John  Saepschead  & John 
Fforeskeue  whose  yerely 
fee  was  to  eache  of  them 
wth  theire  lyveryes  . .600 

John  Robynson  whose  yerely 

fee  was  . . .1500 

Jeames  Seamer  whose  yerely 

fee  was  . . .1000 

John  Watson  whose  yerely 

fee  was  . . .368 

Thomas  Lowes  and  Thomas 
Cutts  whose  yerely  fees  to 
eache  of  them  . .2134 

A teacher  of  Pricksonge 

whose  yerely  fee  was  . 2 13  4 

Robte  Ballthroppe  whose 

yerely  fee  was  . . 13  6 8 

Henry  Browne  whose  yerely 
fee  was  . . .400 

John  Staples  whose  yerelye 

fee  was  . . .200 

Robte  Cooke  whose  yerelye 

fee  was  . . .2134 


* Howes,  pp.  15,  16. 


KING  EDWARD  VI. 

FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  MR.  CHARLES  E.  BROWNE  OK  THE  PORTRAIT  BY  HOLBEIN 


IN  THE  COURT  ROOM 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  25 

£i.  s.  d. 

The  coale-keper  . Trongon  Charsley  whose 

yerelye  fee  was  . .200 

The  mazon  scourer  . Thomas  Lucas  whose  yerely 

fee  was  . • . o 10  o 


There  were  allso  encreased  more  Beadelles  & theire  wages 
was  allso  encreased  by  reason  that  theire  pains  was  then 
greater  then  before. 


Govemors 

Matron 


Systers 


The  Bruer 


Mr  Vickers  whose  yerely  fee 

was  . • .168 

Agnes  Sexton  whose  yerely 
fee  was  besyde  a liverye 
and  i8d  a weke  for  hir 
boorde  . . .368 

xxvtie  and  every  of  them  had 
yerelye  for  their  severall 
fees  xls  & a lyverey  and 
xvi  pence  a weke  for  theire 
boorde  wages. 

John  Wasse  had  for  his 
yerelye  fee  . 

The  Sextone  of  Chrystes 
churche  had  for  his  attend- 
ance yerelye . . .100 


In  this  list  of  the  first  staff  of  the  Foundation  several 
points  call  for  comment.  At  the  outset  it  prepares  to  deserve 
its  title  of  “Hospital”  by  spending  far  more  on  the  comfort, 
the  clothing,  the  cleanliness  of  the  inmates  than  upon  their 
education.*  The  combined  salaries  of  the  C.  H.  “chirurgiones” 
are  more  than  equal  to  that  of  the  “ Head  Master.”  The  wages 
of  the  Matron  and  “ Systers,”  irrespective  of  “ theire  boorde,” 
amount  to  nearly  three  times  the  sum  paid  to  the  assistant- 
masters.  It  has  sometimes  been  suggested  that  Howes’  list 
includes  the  Nurses  and  officials  of  St.  Thomas’s  Hospital 
as  well  as  those  of  Christ’s ; but  the  Parker  manuscript,  to  be 
again  referred  to,  disposes  of  this  idea.  It  has  a similar  list, 
and  mentions  forty-four  “ Kepers  of  the  same  children  and 

* See  Stow,  chap.  ii.  p.  64  : “In  the  yeere  1553  after  the  erection  of  Christ’s 
Hospitall  ...  a schoole  was  also  ordained  there.” 


26  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


aged  people  in  both  the  houses,”  five  surgeons,  two  stewards, 
two  butlers,  two  cooks,  two  clerks,  and  two  matrons.  The 
manuscript  only  lapses  into  the  singular  when  it  comes  to  the 
“ Scole-master  ” and  the  “ ussher,”  and  the  “scolemaster  for 
wrytinge.”  Clearly  Christ’s  Hospital  monopolised  the  latter, 
and  had  its  fair  share  of  the  matrons,  nurses,  “ chirurgiones,” 
and  the  like,  as  given  in  the  Parker  MS. 

But,  however  large  its  nursing  staff,  it  is  perfectly  clear 
that  Christ’s  Hospital,  within  a few  months  of  its  start  in  life, 
became  a School  instead  of  being  the  mere  Foundling 
Hospital  that  some  investigators  of  the  school-systems  of  the 
period  would  have  us  believe  it.  It  is  true,  in  a strictly  literal 
sense,  that  Christ’s  Hospital  “was  not  founded  as  a Grammar 
School,  but  as  a Foundling  Hospital.”*  Yet,  as  the  found- 
lings were  brought  in  during  November,  1552,  and  the 
grammar-master  and  his  staff  drew  their  first  quarter’s  salary 
in  June,  1553,  the  interval  of  Foundlingism,  pure  and  simple, 
was  short  enough.  Indeed  the  original  staff,  considering  that 
the  first  batch  of  280  teachable  inmates  would  not  all  be 
boys,  and  that  the  girls  would  fall  to  the  care  of  the  matron, 
was  by  no  means  small,  according  to  the  standard  of  the 
time.  The  infants  came  under  the  “ schoole  maisters  for  the 
Petties  (or  ‘ Petites  ’)  A.B.C.”  who  were  ultimately  merged  in 
the  Writing  School,  while  the  rest  were  taught  writing  by 
John  Watson,  the  Clerk  to  the  Governors.  But  the  most 
remarkable  item  is  “the  schoole-Maister  for  Music,”  further 
described  as  “a  teacher  of  Pricksonge.”  The  Music  School 
will  be  discussed  elsewhere,  but  the  point  now  is  that  this  so- 
called  Foundling  Hospital  at  once  follows  the  example  of  so 
many  of  the  Grammar  Schools  of  the  time  in  making  pro- 
vision for  the  teaching  of  music,  a duty  never  neglected  by  it 
to  this  day.  It  comes,  then,  to  this,  that  Christ’s  Hospital 
starts  with  a Grammar  Master,  and  an  Usher  under  him,  a 
Writing  Master,  and  two  elementary  teachers,  a Music  Master, 
and  a Matron  to  look  after  the  “ mayden-children  or  a staff 
of  seven  for  under  three  hundred  children.  As  a beginning, 
it  is  not  disgraceful,  though  it  is  far  from  adequate,  and  it 
* Leach,  English  Schools  at  the  Reformation,  p.  4. 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  27 

was  large  enough  to  justify  itself  in  a very  short  time.  The 
first  “Blue”  who  is  recorded  to  have  left  the  Hospital  for  the 
University  went  to  Cambridge  by  the  assistance  of  the 
Governors  in  1566,  or  thirteen  years  after  the  foundation; 
but  the  system  of  record-keeping  during  that  period  was  so 
unsatisfactory  that  no  one  can  be  sure  whether  John  Priest- 
man  was  actually  the  first  or  not.  The  entry  to  the  effect  that 
“ 1566.  June  the  15.  John  Prestman  went  to  the  vniuersitie 
of  Cambrige  as  in  the  court  Bok  fo.  29  ” rather  suggests  that 
it  was  no  unusual  event,  and,  as  this  happened  a dozen  years 
or  so  from  the  beginning  of  Christ’s  Hospital  teaching,  it  is 
no  great  assumption  that  the  course  of  instruction  from  the 
first  was  neither  better  nor  worse  than  that  of  the  ordinary 
Grammar  Schools  of  the  day.  If  any  discredit  attaches  to 
the  Hospital  in  this  connection,  it  may  be  stated  in  terms  of 
the  fact  that  two  centuries  later,  when  there  were  516  children 
in  the  London  School,  the  staff  consisted  of  the  Upper  and 
Lower  Grammar  masters,  the  Writing  School  master,  the 
Mathematical  master,  the  master  of  the  Drawing  School,  and 
the  “Musick  Master,”  together  with  Upper  and  Lower  Girls’ 
School  mistresses — or  a total  of  eight,  to  whom  it  is  probably 
necessary  to  add  an  apprentice  or  two  in  the  Writing  School. 
The  latter  contained  in  1769  no  less  than  263  pupils,  while  in 
the  Grammar  School,  James  Boyer,  then  about  thirty-three 
years  of  age,  was  responsible  for  the  instruction  of  129  boys. 
Certainly  Christ’s  Hospital  deserved  the  title  of  Grammar 
School  in  1553,  more,  not  less,  than  it  did  in  1769.  It  may 
be  noted  that  either  the  “ Bruer  ” brews  for  sheer  love  of 
brewing,  or  there  is  a “lacuna”  in  the  manuscript. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  scheme,  then,  points  to 
something  between  a Free  Grammar  School  and  a Foundling 
Hospital,  which  was  necessary  to  clear  the  streets.  The  only 
functionaries  who  are  too  numerous  to  be  numbered  are  the 
“ Beadelles,”  and  for  all  they  were  so  many,  “ theire  pains 
was  ” likely  to  be  greater  yet.  Their  modern  representatives 
to-day  take  life  more  easily,  for  there  are  three  centuries  of 
good  discipline  at  their  back,  and  that  running  away  of  the 
inmates,  which  was  the  plague  of  the  first  beadles,  has  been 


28  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


only  the  occasional  excitement  of  the  later  ones,  till  “chasing” 
has  finally  died  a natural  death. 

And  so  at  last  we  are  brought  to  the  actual  beginnings  of 
this  “high  emprise,”  and  it  would  be  a day  much  to  be 
remembered  if  we  could  arrive  at  the  actual  date  of  the  first 
inmates’  first  entry.  “ In  the  month  of  September,”  says 
Stow,  as  enlarged  by  Strype ; more  circumstantial,  and 
more  open  to  suspicion,  is  another  statement  that  the  children 
were  taken  into  the  Hospital  on  the  23rd  of  November,  1552. 
John  Howes  fails  us  just  when  we  want  him,  though  he  gives 
the  number  admitted  to  the  benefits  of  the  charity ; but  he 
more  than  makes  up  for  his  want  of  dates  by  the  vivid 
reasons  alleged  for  the  great  mortality  among  the  children. 
A number  of  them,  says  he,  “being  taken  from  the  dunghill 
when  they  came  to  swete  and  cleane  keping  and  to  a pure 
dyett  dyed  downe  righte”  ! Three  hundred  and  eighty  came 
into  this  haven  when  it  was  ready  to  welcome  them,  and 
though  of  these  a hundred  were  put  out  to  nurse  as  mere 
infants,  there  must  have  been  serious  difficulty  in  the  early 
and  inexperienced  stage  of  the  management  in  barring  the 
entry  of  those  various  ailments  which  young  flesh  is  heir  to, 
and  which  three  centuries  and  a half  of  medical  progress 
have  taught  us  only  to  cure  and  not  to  prevent. 

Several  features  have  already  suggested  themselves  as 
connecting  the  new  times  with  the  old,  and  it  should  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  original  scheme  comprised  a system 
of  pensions.  Six  hundred  “ decayed  housholders  ” were 
“ allso  releved  wekely.”  The  adult  poor  and  “ the  lustie 
roges  ” of  both  sexes,  of  whom  the  streets  had  likewise  to 
be  relieved,  were  swept  into  the  Hospital  in  such  abundance 
that  further  accommodation  had  to  be  provided  for  them,  and 
again  Ridley  is  in  the  forefront  of  the  enterprise.  He  is 
represented  as  delivering  a “ fyne  supplicacon  ” to  the  King, 
and  constituting  himself  the  mouthpiece,  not  of  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  the  citizens,  but  of  “the  myserable  sore  sicke 
and  friendless  people”  to  whom,  in  those  days  of  vigorous 
bumbledom,  even  the  streets  were  no  longer  open.  There  is, 
besides,  his  letter  to  Cecil  in  May,  1552,  with  its  quaint 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  29 


suggestion  that  “ Christ  should  lie  no  more  abroad  in  the 
street”  while  “a  wide,  large,  empty  house  of  the  King’s 
Majesty,  called  Bridewell,”  was  ready  at  hand  “to  lodge 
Christ  in.”  This  “ learned  oracon  ” was  delivered  in  presence 
of  twelve  representatives  of  the  City,  including  Sir  “ Martyn 
Boes,”  Mr.  Peter  Blundell,  and  Mr.  Grafton,  and  it  did  not 
fail  of  its  effect.  Bridewell  was  granted  to  them,  with  the 
revenues  of  the  Savoy,  something  over  £500  a year,  to  endow 
the  foundation,  and  in  the  possession  of  them  we  may  leave 
it.  But  Bridewell’s  connection  with  Christ’s  Hospital  consists 
in  something  more  than  a respect  for  their  common  Patron 
and  Founder,  and  an  enjoyment  for  some  years  of  the 
revenues  of  a common  fund.  Entries  in  the  first  Court  Book 
(1562-92)  show  that  children  were  sent,  four  or  five  at 
a time,  to  Bridewell  to  learn  a trade,  returning  to  Christ’s 
Hospital  for  their  meals ; that  small  sums  were  given  by  our 
Governors  to  Bridewell  for  taking  care  of  sucklings ; and 
that  in  other  cases  an  arrangement  was  made  for  “ Blue  ” 
children  to  pay  twelve  shillings  for  their  abode  in  Bridewell 
eight  weeks,  and  then  to  remain  there  free  of  charge  ; besides 
which  these  pages  will  show  that  it  was  not  an  uncommon 
threat  in  later  centuries  that  disorderly  youths  would  be 
packed  off  to  Bridewell  for  correction. 

Meanwhile,  as  far  as  Christ’s  Hospital  itself  is  concerned, 
matters  had  progressed.  In  the  months  that  followed  their 
first  entry  into  the  gates  the  children  had  become,  not  only 
presentable,  but  orderly.  By  Christmas,  1552,  they  were 
ready  in  their  “ livery  of  russet  cotton  ” to  line  “ the  proces- 
sion of  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  to  St.  Paul’s,  from 
Lawrence  Lane  westward.”  They  were  again  under  the 
public  eye  the  following  Easter,  when  they  attended  the 
Spital  sermons. 

This  chapter  may  fitly  close  with  some  reference  to  the 
earliest  authentic  account  which  we  possess  of  the  work  and 
financial  condition  of  the  Hospital  during  the  first  year  of 
its  existence.  It  is  stated  to  have  been  drawn  up  in  order  to 
set  before  King  Edward  the  latest  results  of  his  efforts  at  the 
time  when  the  signing  of  the  charter  was  imminent  or  under 


30  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


consideration  (that  is  to  say,  in  May  or  June,  1553).  The 
copy  of  it,  to  which  my  brother — a fellow  of  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Cambridge — kindly  drew  my  attention,  is  in  Arch- 
bishop Parker’s  collection  in  the  splendid  library  of  that 
college,  and  the  handwriting  bears  a close  resemblance  to 
that  of  the  earliest  documents  at  the  Hospital,  which  are 
presumably  the  penmanship  of  John  Watson,  the  clerk  and 
writing-master.  There  is  another  copy  in  a different  hand 
in  the  British  Museum  (Harl.  MS.  No.  604,176),  and  in  each 
case  there  are  certain  defects  in  the  arithmetic.  The  chief 
points  are  as  follows.  The  title  of  the  document  is,  “ A true 
and  Shorte  Declaration  of  the  state  and  charge  of  the  newe 
erectede  hospitalles  in  the  citie  of  London.  Anno  Dom. 
1 5 S3-”  First,  the  finances  : “ The  whole  benevolence  graunted 
of  all  the  citizens  of  London  towarde  the  ereccon  of  the  two 
houses,  that  is  to  say  of  St.  Thomas  and  Christe  Hospitalle,” 
amounted  to  .£2,476.  But  “ the  charges  of  the  ereccon  of 
those  two  houses  and  the  furniture  of  them  ” came  to 
£2,479  ior.  10 d.t  leaving  a deficit  on  the  original  cost  of 
only  £3  ioj.  10 d.  Next,  the  maintenance  for  the  first  year, 
which  came  to  far  more  than  the  capital  expenditure.  The 
“ meate,  bread  and  drynke  ” of  the  five  hundred  and  forty 
inmates  of  the  two  hospitals  came  to  £1,638  per  annum. 
“ Novrishinge  of  one  hundred  children”  in  the  country  “at 
xd  the  weke”  cost  £216  3 s.  4 d.  a year.  “ Apparell,  . . . that 
ys  to  saye  sheates,  shertes,  cotes,  cappes,  hosen,  showes, 
paper  bookes,  ynke,  which  some  tyme  ys  more  and  some 
tyme  ys  lesse,”  cost  £260.  The  salaries  and  board  of  the 
forty-four  “kepers”  accounted  for  £117  S-5--  4<£  on  the  basis 
that  “ every  keper  hath  xvid  the  weke  and  ii  matrones  xviiid 
the  weke.”  “ Ffewell,  that  ys  to  saie,  wode  and  cole,”  cost 
£260.  Pensions  “ to  decaied  householders  in  sondrye  parishes 
in  the  citie  of  London”  amounted  to  £468  a year.  The 
governors  also  gave  £60  a year  in  subscriptions  to  "the 
Lazer  houses  adioyninge  to  the  citie  of  London  to  the 
intente  they  shall  not  begge  within  the  same  nor  within 
three  myles  compasse  thereof,  except  it  be  at  theire  owne 
door,  to  the  great  anoyance  of  all  suche  as  have  frequentede 


THE  PRESENTATION  OF  THE  CHARTER 


FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  31 

the  citie  in  the  terme  time.”  Last,  the  salaries  represent 
an  annual  payment  of  £301  6s.  Sd.  The  total  yearly  ex- 
penditure, for  which  the  Archbishop’s  manuscript  does  not 
completely  account,  is  stated  to  be  £ 3,290  5 s'.  4 d.  And  now 
for  the  devotio  civium.  “ There  ys  collectede,”  says  the 
statement,  “ by  the  gefte  and  free  allmes  of  the  citizens  ” 
£2,914,  leaving  a deficiency  of  £3 76  5s.  4 d.  Legacies  and 
donations  reduced  the  debt  the  first  year  by  £129  15s.  Sd, 
and  the  balance  of  the  ordinary  expenditure,  £246  9 s.  8 d, 
“ hath  been  paid  and  disbursed  by  the  Governors  of  the  said 
houses  out  of  their  owne  purses,  which  daylie  travayle  for 
the  good  order  of  them.” 

This  interesting  balance-sheet  cannot  be  dismissed  without 
a word  or  two.  First,  it  clearly  belongs  to  the  end  of  the 
first  year’s  work,  which,  as  far  as  Christ’s  Hospital  is  con- 
cerned, must  make  its  date  somewhere  in  November,  1553. 
Secondly,  it  is  hardly  likely  to  have  been  prepared  for  the 
satisfaction  of  Edward  VI.,  who  would  find  from  it  that  any 
royal  assistance  to  the  finances  of  the  Royal  Hospitals  was 
painfully  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  And,  thirdly,  it  shows 
that  practically  every  penny  of  the  support  given  came  out 
of  the  pockets  of  living  citizens  with  the  exception  of  the 
small  sum  given,  doubtless  by  citizens,  after  death. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  this  great  enterprise.  Land 
and  buildings  “given”  by  Henry  VIII.  for  one  purpose  in 
1547  were  again  “given ” by  Edward  VI.  for  another  purpose 
in  1552.  If  the  “gifts”  of  Kings  had  been  the  only  gifts, 
Christ’s  Hospital  would  never  have  enjoyed  its  useful  life. 
It  owed  its  start,  as  it  has  owed  its  steady  continuance  in 
well-doing,  to  the  generosity  of  the  citizens  of  London. 
But  nothing  can  rob  Edward  of  the  lasting  fame  of  having 
signed  the  charter  which  is  still  in  the  Hospital’s  possession. 

. It  is  dated  “at  Westminster  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  June 
in  the  seventh  year  of  our  reign.”  It  contains  the  famous 
entry,  in  his  own  handwriting,  that  the  Governors  were  to  be 
allowed  to  receive  land  in  mortmain  or  to  acquire  it  to  the 
value  of  “ foure  thousand  marks  by  the  yeare.”  The  scene 
of  its  signature  has  been  perpetuated  in  a stiff  and  inartistic 


32  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


picture,*  attributed  to  Holbein,  who  did  not  live  till  the  date 
in  question.  But  a happier  presentment  of  it  is  enshrined  in 
the  legend  which  tells  that,  as  his  feeble  fingers  dropped  the 
pen,  the  young  King  was  heard  to  say,  “ Lord,  I yield  Thee 
most  hearty  thanks  that  Thou  hast  given  me  life  thus  long  to 
finish  this  work  to  the  glory  of  Thy  Name.”  Eleven  days 
later  he  passed  away. 

* Mr.  C.  W.  Carey,  who  has  this  picture  under  careful  restoration  at  Horsham, 
believes  it  to  be  the  work  of  Sir  Antonio  More. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  CHILDREN 

“We  were  hungry  and  Thou  hast  fed  us.” 

Bishop  Compton’s  C.  H.  Prayers. 

HE  reader,  who  has  had  patience  with  me  so  far,  will 


have  been  able  to  see  that  the  founding  of  Christ’s 
Hospital  was  not  so  much  Edward’s  project  as  Henry’s, 
and  not  so  much  Kings’  work  as  the  City’s ; that  it  was  not 
a matter  of  amateur  benevolence,  but  of  economic  necessity ; 
that  Christ’s  Hospital  was  almost  from  the  first  a grammar- 
school  as  well  as  an  asylum  for  foundlings.  We  know  by 
this  time,  thanks  to  the  trenchant  investigations  of  Mr.  Leach, 
that  there  was  ample  supply  of  good  schools  in  the  England 
of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  and  that  the  educa- 
tional fervour  of  the  Tudors  is  but  borrowed  plumage.  I 
have  endeavoured  in  this  case  to  estimate  the  credit  they 


It  is  necessary  to  make  these  reservations  in  order  to  fend 
off  any  disappointment  at  the  barrenness  of  the  early  years’ 
records.  What  could  they  consist  of,  save  entries  to  the 
effect  that  such  a child,  his  name  given  him  on  admission, 
had  been  put  out  to  nurse  till  he  should  be  seven  or  eight 
years  of  age  and  be  fit  to  knock  about  in  the  school  ? As 
long  as  there  were  still  waifs  and  strays  to  be  looked  after,  the 
Governors  kept  their  attention  fixed  on  this  part  of  their 
duty.  Each  child,  as  it  first  came  into  their  care,  meant  a 
life  to  be  kept  going  rather  than  an  intellect  to  be  developed. 
But  already,  In  the  Poor  Law  legislation,  a movement  was 
afoot  which  tended  to  make  the  foundling  work  of  Christ’s 
Hospital  ultimately  superfluous  and  to  leave  the  way  clear 


deserve. 


D 


33 


34  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

for  the  work  of  the  schoolmaster.  If  our  Parish  registers 
start  mostly  with  the  year  1538,  it  is  because  Crumwell  had 
the  foresight  to  see  what  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries 
would  mean  to  the  poor ; and  so,  at  his  instigation,  Henry 
had  arranged  to  throw  the  burden  of  pauperism  on  the  well- 
to-do  in  each  parish.  It  only  shows  how  slowly  the  com- 
munity learns  wisdom,  that  this  Act  (27  Henry  VIII.)  orders 
“that  no  person  shall  give  any  money  in  alms,  but  to  the 
common  boxes  or  common  gatherings  in  every  parish,  upon 
pain  to  forfeit  ten  times  as  much  as  shall  be  given.”  More- 
over, the  contents  of  these  “ common  boxes  or  common 
gatherings  ” of  the  City  parishes  passed  by  common  consent 
into  the  coffers  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  as  being  the  acknow- 
ledged means  of  caring  for  the  young  paupers.  In  1563, 
ten  years  after  the  doors  were  opened,  twenty-eight  parish 
boxes  contained  only  13J.  4 d.,  as  against  £24  6s.  3 d. 

from  twenty-three  wards  in  the  year  before,  and  there  was 
clearly  a tightness  about  the  charity  money-market.  So  it 
is  not  surprising  to  find  that  in  1 562,  the  former  of  the  two 
years  of  which  we  are  able  to  give  the  figures,  Elizabeth 
should  have  set  her  seal  to  a stringent  Act  (5  Eliz.  c.  3). 
It  ordains  that  the  poor  and  impotent  of  every  parish 
shall  be  relieved  of  that  which  every  person  will  “of  their 
charity”  give  weekly.  None  of  them  shall  openly  go  and 
sit  begging ; and  if  any  parishioner  shall  refuse  to  pay 
reasonably  toward  the  relief  of  the  poor,  or  discourage 
others,  the  justices  of  the  peace  may  tax  him  in  a reasonable 
weekly  sum,  and  if  he  refuse  to  pay  it  they  may  commit  him 
to  prison. 

How  is  it  that,  in  spite  of  this  Act,  there  are  constant 
complaints  in  the  Counting-House  of  the  Hospital  that  the 
sums  due  in  respect  of  waifs  received  have  not  been  paid  ? 
Times  of  outward  prosperity  like  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  are 
always  pervaded  by  a certain  leaven  of  improvidence,  and 
the  number  of  foundlings  was  not  likely  to  diminish  because 
there  was  now  a definite  home  for  them.  All  we  can  do 
in  the  shape  of  answer  is  to  give  instances  of  the  way  in 
which  the  City  made  use  of  the  Hospital,  and  then  add, 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  CHILDREN  35 

as  bearing  upon  the  same  point,  various  details  as  to  the 
age  at  which  children  were  admitted. 

It  is  curious  that  the  first  proof  of  the  admission  of  a 
foundling  should  come  from  an  outside  source,  namely  the 
City  archives.*  It  bears  date  “ 13  Sept.  1 & 2 Philip  and 
Mary,”  i.e.  A.D.  1554. 

At  this  Court  it  was  agreed  that  “the  yonge  Tenter 
infant  ” laid  in  the  church  porch  of  Saint  Pancras,f  “ as  Alex. 
Merynge,  Mercer,  and  others,  informed  the  Court  here  this 
day,”  shall  be  received  into  “ Xristes  hospytall  wthin  Newgate 
and  theire  nerysshed  op  at  the  Cyties  chargies.” 

Another  entry  in  December  of  the  same  year  records  a 
like  order  in  regard  to  a “ poore  yonge  mayden  chylde,”  which 
was  being  kept  “ in  bethelem  where  it  was  borne.” 

The  same  system  of  making  the  original  buildings  a refuge 
for  destitute  infants  is  attested  by  items  in  the  Court  Minutes 
of  the  Hospital,  only  at  a rather  later  date ; £.JT.  “1557.  May  10. 
It  was  also  graunted  that  a woman  chylde  about  thage  of 
half  a yere  left  on  Mr.  Gunter’s  Stall  in  Cornehill  and  by  him 
kepte  sythence  Candlemas  even  shuld  also  be  admitted.”  Or 
again,  still  later,  when  the  economic  arrangements  must  have 
been  fairly  stereotyped,  we  come  upon  the  following:  1571 
[day  not  given].  John  Ratfford,  a sick  and  poor  infant  of  four 
years,  was  taken  in  and  admitted,  because  the  mother  “was 
all  comfortlesse  and  wthoute  howse  or  anie  other  comphert.” 
But  though  we  have  no  definite  mention  of  many  such 
admissions,  the  system  is  amply  borne  out  by  the  figures.  I 
have  before  me  a list  of  seventy  children  received  in  the 
following  year,  A.D.  1572.  Their  ages  range  from  fourteen 
days  to  fifteen  years,  and  the  result  of  further  analysis  is 
quite  conclusive.  Eleven  were  over  nine  years  old,  eight 
were  between  six  and  nine,  fifteen  were  between  three  and 
six,  no  less  than  thirty-six,  or  more  than  half,  were 
three  years  old  and  under,  and  of  these  latter  twenty- 
three,  or  roughly  two-thirds,  were  infants  of  between 
twelve  months  and  two  weeks.  Nor  was  this  mercy  to  the 

Repertory  13,  fol.  197  b. 

f Doubtless  “ S.  Pancras,  Soper  Lane,”  now  united  with  “ S.  Mary-le-bow.” 


36  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


helplessly  young  a mere  passing  whim  or  a momentary 
necessity  of  the  case.  The  Hospital  accomplished  its  first 
century  of  work  under  Oliver  Cromwell  in  1653,  and  the 
admissions  of  that  year  numbered  two  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  proportions,  it  is  true,  are  a good  deal  changed,  but  the 
infants  are  still  there.  Of  the  two  hundred  and  twenty,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  are  under  six  years  old,  but  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  of  these  are  over  three.  There  are 
still  three  children  on  the  list  of  less  than  twelve  months. 
Evidently  the  foundling  business  was  not  so  brisk  in  New- 
gate Street  under  the  Protector  as  it  had  been  a hundred 
years  before,  and  the  various  regulations  of  the  Court  help 
us  to  see  how  it  was  gradually  modified.  But,  before  we 
leave  this  early  feature  of  the  work,  it  will  be  well  to  say 
how  the  Plospital  discharged  its  obligations  to  this  bundle 
of  young  life,  male  and  female.  Certainly,  under  whatever 
difficulties,  education  played  its  part  in  the  life  of  the  insti- 
tution, though  it  cannot  have  been  easy  to  systematise  a 
curriculum  for  the  multitudinous  needs  of  girls  and  boys 
whose  ages  varied  between  fourteen  years  and  fourteen  days. 
How  was  it  all  managed  ? 

We  take  a glance  first  at  the  charge  given  in  1556  to 
the  Under  - treasurer,  who  seems  to  correspond  roughly 
to  the  modern  Steward,  inasmuch  as  his  “office  is  first 
and  before  all  other  things  to  take  an  Inventory  of  all  the 
Bedds,  Shetes,  Shirtes,  Smocks,  Hosen,  Showes,  clothe  bothe 
woollen  and  Lynnen,  blanquetts,  bolsters,  pillowes,  stocke- 
bedds,  Mattresses,  paddes  of  strawe,  couletts,  bedsteades, 
cupbourdes,  presses,  lockes,  keyes,  potts,  Cawdrons,  pannes, 
platters,  dysshes.”  True,  he  had  some  power  of  spending 
money  in  “ petty  cash,”  but  it  was  done  under  strict  super- 
vision, for  he  is  told  he  is  not  to  lay  out  any  sums  without 
having  “the  handes”  of  six  or  more  governors  to  warrant 
him,  and  “ if  ye  do  ye  shall  have  none  allowance  for  the 
same.”  So  he  probably  did  not.  But  his  relation  to  the 
infant  foundlings  becomes  clear  when  we  read  that  he  is 
to  “cause  a speciall  daye  of  viewe  to  be  had  of  all  the 
children  that  are  at  the  charge  of  Christes  Hospitall  either 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  CHILDREN  37 

at  the  fyndinge  of  the  house,  or  at  nurse  in  the  countrie, 
or  succoured  by  pensions  given  to  certeyne  psons  for  the 
fyndinge  of  them.” 

The  charge  of  the  same  date  to  the  Governors  deals  with 
the  numbers  to  be  thus  benefited  ; namely,  “ of  Sucklings  to 
be  comitted  to  nurse  not  above  CL11  and  of  children  to  be 
admitted  in  to  the  house  to  lodginge  and  learninge  not  above 
CCL4'.”  These  figures  differ  slightly  from  those  recorded  in 
the  Parker  manuscript  already  referred  to  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  which  shows  that  in  the  first  year  of  work  there 
were  “ daylye  Lodged  and  ffed  in  Christes  hospitall  cclxxx 
children,”  while  there  were  then  only  one  hundred  children 
“ in  the  cuntrey  for  nourssinge,”  at  the  rate  of  “ xd  the  weke.” 
Three  years  had  certainly  added  to  the  numbers  of  both,  and 
the  Governors  of  1556  are  ordered  to  work  down  gradually 
to  the  regulation  figures  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  scholars 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  nurslings. 

The  difficulty  of  organising  the  education  of  so  mixed  a 
multitude  has  already  been  noticed.  Let  it  be  at  once  said 
to  the  credit  of  the  Governors  that  they  made  a brave 
attempt.  John  Howes’  list  of  the  first  Staff  is  fully  supported 
by  the  Parker  MS.  just  referred  to.  John  Robynson,  the 
first  Headmaster,  had  the  help  of  assistants  in  looking  after 
the  small  children.  Howes  calls  them  “ schoole-Maisters  for 
the  Petties  A.B.C.”;  the“  true  and  shorte  declaration”  pre- 
serves their  name  as  given  in  the  first  Account-book,  where 
they  are  called  “ Skolemasters  for  the  petites,”  and  where 
their  first  quarter’s  stipend,  at  the  rate  of  “ liii.  s.  iiii.  d.  yearly,” 
is  recorded  to  have  been  paid  them  in  June,  1553.  The 
popular  agitator,  who  says  that  the  Foundation  has  been 
abused  for  centuries  and  diverted  from  its  first  purpose,  fixes 
upon  this  care  for  foundlings,  and  asks  what  the  Hospital  is 
doing  now  for  the  “ petites.”  He  sees  from  the  admission 
figures  that  there  is  a falling  off  in  the  number  of  foundlings 
from  the  first  year  of  which  we  have  full  details,  viz.  a.d. 
DSb,  onwards,  and  he  forgets,  first,  that  the  development  of 
Poor  Law  and  of  Parish  Schools  made  such  work  on  the  part 
of  Christ’s  Hospital  more  and  more  superfluous ; and  he  will 


38  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


not  see,  secondly,  that  if  the  system  had  been  continued  it 
could  only  have  been  abused.  The  world  is  three  centuries 
and  a half  older  since  then,  but  still  there  are  hundreds  of 
cases  yearly  in  every  poor  quarter  of  London,  where  parents 
neglect  their  children  and  take  any  and  every  means  of 
ridding  themselves  of  them.  So,  without  doubt,  it  was  then. 
Babies  were  brought  to  the  Lodge  gate  or  left  inside  in  the 
cloisters,  until  the  place  where  they  wanted  to  dwell  was  too 
strait  for  them,  and  the  Governors  had  to  refuse  to  receive 
any  more.  But  an  infant  “ about  thage  of  half  a yere”  could 
not  convey  itself  home  for  two  very  good  reasons,  one  of 
which  was  that  it  had  no  home  to  go  to.  Lying  outside  the 
gate  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  it  was  in  the  parish  of  Christ 
Church,  and  became  chargeable  to  the  Parishioners.  They 
were  doubtless  as  good-hearted  folks  then  as  their  successors 
are  now,  but  they  soon  found  the  foundling  system  some- 
thing beyond  a joke,  and  the  Governors  were  bound  to 
reconsider  their  position  in  the  matter,  and  to  see,  regardless 
of  the  modern  agitator,  that  their  greatest  usefulness  would 
not  lie  that  way. 

But  the  agitator,  to  be  consistent,  must  go  further.  There 
were  other  ways  in  which  the  Christ’s  Hospital  of  the  first 
days  put  itself  at  the  public  service,  but  which  it  has  had  to 
leave  to  others  to  pursue.  The  first  of  these  concerned  the 
lepers  and  is  of  historical  aptness.  For,  as  everyone  knows, 
S.  Francis  and  his  followers,  who  were  our  predecessors  in 
this  place,  paid  great  heed  to  the  lepers,  and  there  are  relics 
up  and  down  the  country  of  Lazar-houses  * that  they  built 
and  served.  Therefore  it  was  meet  and  right  that  the 
Governors  should  take  the  duty  upon  them.  On  the  24th  of 
September,  1552,  when  the  buildings  were  not  yet  ready  for 
occupation,  an  order  of  the  Court  was  passed  for  the  payment 
of  six  shillings  and  eightpence  a month  for  each  poor  person 
sent  to  “ the  vi  Lazerhowses  adioyninge  to  the  Citie  for  the 
herbouringe  of  the  poore.”  Each  house  had  its  keeper  and 
each  received  five  shillings  a quarter,  and  the  Account  Book 
shows  that  £60  was  expended  in  this  way  in  A.D.  1553. 


e.g.  at  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  Dunwich,  etc. 


THE  LODGE,  CHRIST  CHURCH  PASSAGE 

FKOM  A PHOTOGRAPH  LENT  BY  THE  LONDON  AND  MIDDLESEX  A RCI GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  CHILDREN  39 

Four  years  later,  in  the  same  month  of  September,  there  was 
“paid  to  the  Lazars  the  sayde  monethe,”  £\2  15^.  4 d.,  which 
was  more  than  twice  the  cost  for  one  month  in  1553.  There- 
fore it  was  quite  natural  that  in  August,  1557,  the  Court 
should  decide  to  leave  these  Lazar  payments  to  the  proper 
authority ; henceforth  they  must  come  “ out  of  the  reue- 
newes”  of  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital. 

In  the  second  place  it  is  clear  that  the  term  Hospital  was 
deemed  by  Governors  and  sufferers  alike  to  be  of  elastic 
interpretation.  A great  City  merchant,  whose  premises  are 
a few  yards’  distance  from  Newgate  Street,  asked  me  some 
years  ago  what  I was  doing,  and  I was  proud  to  be  able  to 
answer  that  I was  working  at  Christ’s  Hospital.  But  it  was 
somewhat  humiliating  to  find  him  continuing  the  conversa- 
tion on  the  assumption  that  I must  be  a medical  student. 
Yet  in  the  sixteenth  century  he  might  have  found  reasons  for 
his  mistake.  Christ’s  Hospital  to-day  has  one  medical  officer 
and  thirty  masters,  but  in  1553  there  were  two  surgeons  as 
well  as  a not  inadequate  staff  of  masters.  And  the  Court 
Book  shows  that  the  Governors  were  willing  to  give  all 
manner  of  medical  assistance.  In  1559  a boy,  "being  almost 
blynde,  at  the  sute  of  his  mother  was  admitted.”  Another 
out  of  St.  Sepulchre  s parish,  “ beinge  lame  on  one  legge,  was 
admitted  for  surgerye,”  and  the  parents  undertook  to  have 
him  home  as  soon  as  he  was  well.  A young  woman  came 
into  the  City  “ verie  sickly,”  in  A.D.  1571,  and,  in  consideration 
of  her  weakness,  “ it  is  agred  that  she  shall  remain  in  the 
sick  ward  for  a tyme.”  Even  when  people  had  already 
enjoyed  the  benefit  of  education  in  the  Hospital,  they  some- 
times returned  to  it  for  various  reasons;  for  example,  one 
William  Jackson,  who  had  been  apprenticed  by  the  Governors 
to  a packthred  maker  in  Barmondsaie.”  He  was  seized  in 
*579  with  “the  falling  sycknes,”  and  was  in  consequence 
taken  again  in  to  this  howse.”  Add  to  this  that  there  was 
a regular  system  of  outdoor  relief  to  the  sick.  Thus,  a 
woman  named  “Jone  Cole,”  sometime  “of  Calice,”  but  now 
in  the  Vintry,  receives  half  a crown  “towarde  the  healinge  of 
hir  childes  arme  named  Tobias  beinge  broken.”  A butcher 


40  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


in  Long  Lane  receives  “duringe  his  sicknes  iiii  d weklye.” 
Nor  was  it  bodily  ailments  only  with  which  the  Foundation 
concerned  itself.  In  1571  Katherine  Moliner,  of  St.  Mildred’s, 
Bread  Street,  who  is  described  sufficiently  as  “ an  Idell 
p[er]sone,”  is  admitted  to  the  House  for  a month  “ to  exersies 
hir  self,”  and  we  may  hope  that  the  parish  collector,  when 
according  to  promise  he  removed  her  at  the  end  of  that  time, 
was  able  to  notice  some  improvement  in  her  manners. 
Lastly,  when  it  was  not  found  possible  to  admit  cases,  the 
Governors  were  ready  not  only  to  pay  for  their  keep  but  to 
provide  them  with  raiment ; thus  a householder  in  “ pater 
noster  Row,”  who  already  receives  “ vi  d wekly  ” towards  the 
“ finding”  of  a poor  boy,  is  granted  “a  Jerkyn  and  a paire  of 
Slopps  of  graie  frese  and  a paire  of  hose  and  sheues  " for  the 
boy’s  use. 

Now  no  one  can  contemplate  these  manifold  activities 
without  seeing  in  them  an  attempt  to  ease  the  present  distress, 
wherever  it  might  pinch,  without  making  any  resolution  to  do 
so  in  perpetuity.  The  Franciscans  had  done  as  much,  and 
more,  while  their  day  lasted ; and  as  long  as  they  had  the 
means,  the  Franciscans’  successors  were  ready  to  do  good 
unto  all  men.  But  from  the  beginning  they  were  determined 
to  proceed  upon  a definite  system,  expecting  each  charitable 
foundation  to  stick  to  its  proper  work.  The  “Order”  of  1 5 56 
lays  it  down  that  no  child  shall  be  admitted  without  a written 
certificate  from  the  Vestry  of  its  parish,  signed  by  the  Aider- 
men  and  “vi  of  the  auncients  of  the  same  parishe  at  the 
least,”  stating  that  the  child  “ was  there  borne  in  lawful 
matrimonie.”  From  this,  as  we  have  seen,  there  were  constant 
deviations  during  the  first  thirty  years,  but  the  “Order” 
expressly  allows  them  “where  losse  of  life  and  perishing 
would  presently  follow.”  But  these  extraordinary  admissions 
should  not  blind  us  to  the  definite  purpose  already  accepted 
and  acted  on,  that  the  Hospital  should  be  a school  for  the 
poor  by  misfortune ; that  at  the  end  of  their  term  some  should 
be  “put  forth  to  service”  with  freemen  of  the  City,  who 
would  keep  a fatherly  eye  on  them  ; and  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  such  of  the  children  “ as  be  pregnant  and  very  apt  to 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  CHILDREN  41 


learning  be  reserved  and  kept  in  the  grammar  school  in  hope 
of  preferment  to  the  universitie.” 

It  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  add  extracts  from  the 
Hospital  books  upon  these  points.  First  comes  a series  of 
regulations  tending  to  restrict  the  clientele. 

February  17th , 1607. — ‘ It  is  also  ordered  that,  according  to 
the  auncient  orders  of  this  house,  from  henceforth  no  forreiners 
childe,  borne  wthout  the  liberties  of  this  Citty,  nor  any  others 
though  their  parents  bee  free  of  this  Cittie,  being  borne  with- 
out the  said  Liberties,  shalbee  admitted  children  of  this  house, 
except  it  bee  upon  very  great  consideration.’ 

June  4th,  1624. — ‘ It  is  further  ordered  at  this  Court  that 
from  henceforth  noe  Child  or  Children  under  the  age  of  4 
years  shalbee  Admitted  from  any  great  Parsonage  by  letter 
or  otherwise,  except  the  same  bee  the  child  of  a free  man 
of  London  and  borne  wthin  the  said  Citie.’ 

March  24 th,  1640. — ‘ It  is  ordered  by  the  generall  Consent 
of  this  Court  that  no  Child  or  Children  shall  be  admitted 
into  this  house  at  the  suite  of  any  parishe  or  person  what- 
soever, except  it  bee  of  the  age  of  3 j vers  or  more! 

March  14th,  1652. — ‘It  was  ordered  by  this  corfc  yl  no 
children  should  be  taken  in  but  such  as  bee  freemans  children 
nor  any  one  that  have  one  in  already  wthout  order  of  this 
corV 

April  6th,  1655. — ‘And  for  ye  tyme  to  come  this  Court 
Ordered  that  no  Child  shall  be  admitted.  . . . Lame  or  other 
ways  infirme  in  ye  body , unless  some  speciall  reasons  be 
shewed  for  ye  same.’ 

Finally,  there  is  a much  longer  and  more  systematic  Order 
of  the  Court,  dated  March  20th,  1673—4,  which  embodies 
all  the  above  regulations,  save  where  it  still  further  narrows 
the  limit  of  age  : — 

‘ 3.  That  noe  children  be  taken  in  under  the  age  of  seaven 
yeares! 

But  this  particular  Order  is  also  remarkable  for  its  mention 
of  two  matters — then  comparatively  new,  but  now  long 
familiar.  One  is  the  admission  of  children  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  a Donor  or  Benefactor.  The  other  is  the 


42  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


annexe  in  the  country,  and  the  rule  is  worth  quoting  as  it 
stands  : — 

‘ That  all  children  that  hereafter  shalbe  admitted,  if  there 
be  not  roome  in  this  Hosp1  to  receive  them,  then  shall  be  sent 
to  nurse  at  Hartford  or  Ware,  where  there  are  Schoole 
Masters  to  teach  and  instruct  them,  and  not  permitted  to 
stay  in  London  with  their  parents  or  others,  who  may  suffer 
the  said  Children  to  runn  up  and  downe  streetes  in  this  Citty, 
dirty  and  nasty,  to  the  great  discredit  of  this  Hospital.’ 

The  instances  already  cited  point  to  the  admission  of 
children  being  granted  mainly  at  the  suit  and  on  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  various  City  parishes,  and  this  parochial  right  to 
“ present  ” a child  survived,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of  my 
own  parish  and  several  others,  till  the  present  scheme  came  into 
operation.  Thus  two  systems  of  admission  operated  side  by 
side  ; children  came  in  at  the  request  of  a parish  or  at  the 
request  of  a person.  But,  as  time  went  on,  the  tendency  was 
for  the  person  to  have  more  right  to  “present,"  and  the  parish 
correspondingly  less.  This  appears  incidentally  in  a reference 
dated  March  24th,  1640,  which  falls  within  a period  of  ten 
years  (1636-46),  during  which  admissions  and  resources  were 
alike  scarce,  and  the  country  was  too  full  of  political  cares  to 
have  leisure  or  money  for  philanthropic  purposes.  “ No 
child,”  it  says,  “shall  bee  admitted  into  this  house  at  the 
suit  of  any  parish  or  person  whatsoever,  except  it  bee  of  the 
age  of  three  years  or  more  ” ; and  another  of  the  same  period 
gives  the  prevalent  reason — “in  respecte  of  the  greate  number 
already  chargeable  to  the  house  and  the  want  of  meanes 
to  maintain  them.” 

It  was  chiefly  at  the  Restoration  that  the  individual 
began  to  assert  himself  at  the  expense  of  the  City  parishes, 
and  in  1678  the  rule  that  the  children  admitted  must  be 
actually  living  within  the  City  was  abolished.  The  system 
of  the  time  was  roughly  this.  Every  March  a balance-sheet 
was  presented,  together  with  “ the  state  of  the  house,”  that 
is  to  say,  the  number  of  children  calculated  to  be  in  the 
school  at  the  approaching  Easter.  The  Court  then  decided 
how  many  vacancies  they  could  declare,  and  one  hundred 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  CHILDREN  43 

may  be  taken  as  a representative  figure.  Thereupon  the 
Court  drew  up  a list  of  this  sort.  The  Lord  Mayor  would 
have  2 presentations,  the  Aldermen  and  the  Recorder  26 , 
the  Governors,  whose  names  were  taken  alphabetically,  58) 
and  benefactors,  14.  It  was  their  frequent  custom  to  “oblige” 
the  parish  of  Christ  Church  with  a presentation,  and  some- 
times (as  in  1717,  “in  regard  to  his  readiness  to  serve  this 
House  on  all  occasions”)  the  Treasurer  of  St.  Bartholomew’s 
Hospital  got  a similar  privilege.  Presentations  were  also 
placed  from  time  to  time  at  the  disposal  of  persons  of  dis- 
tinction. Thus  in  1702  the  Earl  of  Rochester  had  been 
allowed  to  put  in  a boy,  who  was  not  qualified  because  “ he 
is  not  fully  seven  yeares  old  and  hath  a brother  already  in 
the  House  ” ; but  the  Court  overlooked  this  “ in  respect  to 
that  noble  lord,”  and  the  Treasurer  was  sent  to  him  to  say 
that  the  Court  “ hath  gratified  his  honour.”  The  “ brother 
already  in  the  House”  shortly  afterwards  eased  the  con- 
sciences of  the  Governors  by  running  away.  In  the  same 
way  the  Court  in  1731,  hearing  that  “a  Presentation  . . . 
would  be  very  acceptable  to  the  Right  Honble.  Sr  Robert 
Walpole,”  unanimously  agreed  to  “gratify”  the  great  man 
by  admitting  a poor  child  in  whom  he  was  interested. 

The  nominations  once  given,  certain  rules  had  to  be  com- 
plied with,  which,  however,  varied  from  time  to  time.  Children 
must  not  be  “ crooked  nor  diseased,”  not  “ laime  or  otherwise 
blemished  in  their  boddies  or  limes.”  They  must  be  “ want- 
ing either  a ffather  or  a mother,”  in  which  case  (so  says  a 
regulation  of  1723)  “a  certificate  or  affidavit  of  the  Buryal 
of  one  of  them  shall  be  produced.”  Supposing  that  these 
essentials  were  complied  with,  we  may  see  the  subsequent 
proceedings  in  an  order  issued  to  the  Aldermen  in  1674 : 
“When  your  Worp.  hath  made  choice  of  such  a child,  pray 
lett  either  the  ffather,  mother,  or  friend  thereof  come  to  the 
Compting  House  of  Christ’s  Hospitall  with  note  and  your 
Worp’s  name  subscribed  thereunto  on  Monday  and  Tuesday 
the  6th  & 7th  days  of  A prill  1674,  & the  ffather  mother  or 
friend  thereof  shall  know  the  certaine  time  when  the  said 
child  shall  be  received  into  the  care  and  charge  of  the  said 


44  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Hospitall.”  Of  course  it  sometimes  happened  that  “the 
certaine  time”  was  long  in  arriving.  The  number  of  inmates, 
as  the  Governors  said  to  Charles  II.  in  1664,  “doth  either 
increase  or  decrease  as  God  is  pleased  to  move  the  hearts 
of  good  Christians  to  contribute  towards  their  reliefe  ” ; in 
other  words,  the  Court  might  not  be  able  to  afford  to  admit 
an  accepted  child.  Or  the  London  School  might  be  already 
crowded,  because,  as  in  1720,  there  were  “eighty  children  of 
age  fitting  to  come  out  of  the  country,”  who  would  be  pre- 
ferred as  being  already  on  the  foundation.  In  these  circum- 
stances, it  was  a not  uncommon  practice  to  arrange  that 
qualified  children,  for  whom  there  was  as  yet  no  room,  should 
“ remain  with  their  friends  upon  the  House  pay  untill  further 
order." 

It  will  suffice  to  add  that  the  admission  system  of  the 
seventeenth  century  contains  in  germ  all  that  the  Commis- 
sioners of  1837  found  in  existence.  They  arranged  the 
children  under  three  heads  : — 

i.  Those  presented  by  privileged  Governors  (i.e.  the  Presi- 

dent, the  Treasurer,  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen) 
and  by  other  Governors  in  rotation  as  they  stood  on 
the  list. 

ii.  Those  presented  by  Governors  under  occasional  pre- 

sentations. 

iii.  Those  presented  by  parishes,  City  guilds,  or  individuals 

under  special  gifts. 

And  so  it  continued  till  after  many  Commissions  the 
Hospital  came  under  the  scheme  of  1891,  which  must  be 
considered  in  a separate  chapter. 


. 


THE  GIFFS  CLOISTER 


FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  LENT  BY  THE  LONDON  AND  MIDDLESEX  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS 
“Adieu,  adieu  ! ye  much-loved  cloisters  pale  1" — Coleridge. 

THE  casual  visitor,  anxious  to  include  a look  at  Christ’s 
Hospital  in  his  inspection  of  the  “ antiquities  ” of 
London,  is  apt  to  find  his  visit  of  great  interest,  if  it  happens 
during  term  time,  but  is  generally  inclined  to  say  that  he 
missed  the  antiquities.  The  Newgate  Street  gateway  shows 
him  a fine  Tudor  building,  suggestive  of  “King’s”  and  of 
Eton,  but  a closer  inspection  reveals  that  the  date  of  the 
opening  of  the  Hall  is  1829,  and  a look  at  the  back  of  it  is 
enough  to  convince  him  that  the  Tudors  had  no  hand  in  it. 
He  passes  up  Christ  Church  Passage  and  is  rewarded  with 
a glimpse  of  red-brick  work  that  has  no  superior  in  the  City, 
but  he  guesses  that  he  is  in  front  of  a building  erected  under 
the  later  Stuarts.  He  enters  the  Lodge  and  finds  himself 
in  a quadrangle,  whose  only  suggestion  of  antiquity  is  its 
shape,  and  his  cicerone  draws  his  attention  to  the  south  side 
of  the  square,  which  consists  of  a cloister,  whose  level  is 
some  feet  lower  than  the  rest.  It  is  lined  with  brick  and 
faced  with  brick,  but  between  the  outer  and  the  inner  lining 
he  can  see  that  there  is  the  stonework  of  pointed  arches. 
Its  roof  on  close  examination  proves  a grievous  fraud.  It  is 
known  as  “ The  Gififs,”  a name  which  no  one  would  hesitate 
to  derive  from  the  initials  of  “ Grey  fTriars,”  if  it  were  not 
that  “ Blues  ” of  forty  or  fifty  years  back  persist  in  main- 
taining that  the  eponymous  hero  of  the  cloister  is  one 
G.  I.  Fuller,  who  in  their  time  had  been  beadle  for  many 
years  at  the  Christ  Church  lodge.  But  it  has  been  elsewhere 
explained  that  the  plot  of  ground  at  the  east  end  of  the 


45 


46  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Cloister  went  for  more  than  two  centuries  by  the  name  of 
“ The  Grey  Friars,”  and  to  this  plot  the  cloister  gave  access, 
thus  obtaining  the  name  of  “the  Grey  Friars  Cloister,” 
which  any  schoolboy  would  shorten  into  “the  G.  Fs.,”  and  so 
to  “ the  Giffs.”  Fuller’s  initials  or  Fuller’s  colloquialisms  are 
a poor  modern  substitute  for  an  explanation  that  takes  us 
back  to  the  days  of  Richard  Grafton,  who,  with  others  who 
rented  houses  within  the  grounds,  must  have  used  the  cloister 
daily  to  get  to  his  front  door.  That  cloister,  we  must  be 
content  to  know,  is  all  that  is  really  old  in  Christ’s  Hospital, 
for  it  can  probably  number  six  centuries,  and  the  only 
contemporary  structures  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  are 
the  hidden  piers  of  masonry  upon  which  Christ  Church  rises, 
one  of  which  was  disclosed  in  the  recent  construction  of  the 
station  for  the  Central  London  Railway. 

But,  if  the  visitor  will  be  content  to  imagine  himself  three 
centuries  and  a half  away,  it  is  not  hard  to  convince  him  that 
the  present  buildings  are  the  obvious  successors  of  those 
which  in  Edward  VI.’s  time  were  handed  over  to  the 
Governors  for  the  use  of  the  poor  children  of  the  City.  A 
glance  at  a very  ancient  plan  of  the  Grey  Friars,  which  is 
kept  in  the  Counting  House,  will  show  him  that  he  must 
eliminate  everything  north  of  the  Middle  Cloister,  at  least 
for  the  time  being.  The  original  site  was  roughly  A-shaped, 
with  its  apex  westward  opposite  St.  Sepulchre’s  Church,  and 
its  base  eastward,  along  what  is  now  King  Edward  Street, 
and  was  then  Foul  or  Stinking  Lane.  The  southern  arm  of 
the  angle  consisted  almost  entirely  of  the  Church  of  the 
Grey  Friars,  300  feet  in  length ; the  northern  arm  was 
formed  by  the  City  Wall.  In  order  to  show  how  completely 
the  original  site  was  shut  in  on  the  north,  with  none  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  Writing  School,  the  Warden’s  Lodge, 
and  the  Grammar  School  now  stand,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  remember  that  immediately  on  the  north  side  of  the  City 
Wall  ran  the  Town  Ditch.  In  1552  it  was  merely  an  open 
sewer,  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  the  general  unsavouri- 
ness  of  this  triangle  whose  base  was  Stinking  Lane,  whose 
south  side  was  the  Shambles,  and  whose  north  side  was  the 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS 


47 


open  cloaca  of  the  City.  It  required  no  great  flight  of  genius 
to  decide  that  the  Ditch  must  be  covered,  if  the  children  were 
to  be  kept  alive,  and  this  was  done  at  the  expense  of  John 
Calthrop,*  citizen  and  draper,  from  Aldersgate  to  Newgate, 
and  part  of  this  surface  over  the  Town  Ditch  was  leased  to 
the  Hospital  by  the  Corporation  in  1553  at  a “peppercorn” 
of  twelve  pence  a year.  Of  the  date  at  which  the  City  Wall 
was  levelled  I have  found  no  record,  but  its  course  through 
the  Hospital  is  easily  determinable.  A portion  of  it  lies 
under  the  newest  buildings  of  the  General  Post  Office ; it 
passed  under  the  Lodge  at  the  Ditch  gates,  slanted  south- 
westward,  so  as  to  run  under  or  just  to  the  north  of  the  great 
tower  which  now  gives  entrance  to  the  Writing  School,  and 
so  traversed  the  “ Hall-Play”  past  the  Gymnasium,  till  it  met 
the  “ New  Gate,”  at  the  end  of  Newgate  Street.  When 
once  it  was  levelled,  the  Hospital  was  free  to  stretch  its 
limbs  northward,  and  the  land  which  the  school  has  so  long 
occupied  between  the  Wall  and  the  confines  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew’s Hospital  is  only  freehold  in  so  far  as  it  is  held  at  a 
rental  of  £10  on  two  leases  from  the  Corporation  which  expire 
in  A.D.  2691 — which  is  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes. 

But  it  was  well  on  in  the  seventeenth  century  before  this 
northern  portion  was  occupied  for  school  purposes.  Houses 
were  built  there,  whose  rents  swelled  the  revenues,  and  this 
was  done  from  the  very  beginning.  Thus  it  was  agreed  on 
the  last  of  January,  1558,  that  “thalf  of  the  greate  garden 
within  the  Towne  Ditch  shulde  be  let  out  for  money  and 
thother  half  to  be  reserved  to  thuse  of  this  house.”  Probably 
the  first  use  made  of  the  Ditch  was  for  the  erection  of  the 
Treasurer’s  house  (subsequently  destroyed  in  the  Fire).  This 
project  was  started  in  1648,  and  it  was  understood  that  the 
Committee  should  not  “be  tied  to  the  just  sum  of  £450 
but  before  it  was  finished  in  June,  1649,  the  builder  reported 
that  he  had  spent  ^783,  and  was  afraid  of  imprisonment  if 
he  did  not  see  his  money  at  once.  The  Committee  made 
a proposal  to  him  for  the  payment  of  a certain  sum  on 
condition  that  there  was  “ a fynall  end  of  ye  business  ” and 

* One  of  “The  Thirty”  (p.  23). 


48  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


“noe  more  controversie  or  question.”  It  was  not  the  last 
case  in  the  school’s  history  of  “ estimates  ” being  exceeded. 

Across  the  Ditch  from  south  to  north  ran  a passage,  still 
represented  by  a closed  door,  between  the  school  and  “ Barts,” 
and  it  was  natural  that  “ beggars  and  vagrants  ” should 
imagine  that  between  the  two  charitable  foundations  they 
stood  some  chance  of  relief;  so  that  in  1637  it  was  neces- 
sary to  give  special  instructions  to  our  beadles  to  expel 
them  “as  far  as  our  part  extends.”  In  the  other  direction, 
from  east  to  west,  the  Ditch  was  traversed  by  the  “ Long 
Walk,”  which  is  sometimes  described  in  the  Minutes  as  “ the 
Common  Way  or  passage.”  Whatever  the  course  it  pursued 
after  entering  the  Little  Britain  gates,  it  was  the  main  artery 
of  traffic  within  the  Hospital,  and  it  also  communicated  with 
St.  Bartholomew’s ; indeed  the  Christ  Church  Vestry-book 
describes  it  as  “ ye  walke  between  ” the  two  hospitals.  Most 
of  the  shops,  elsewhere  referred  to,  fronted  on  the  Long 
Walk,  and  special  mention  is  made  in  1738  of  a “little  shop 
near  the  Writing  School,”  and  near  the  passage  leading  to 
“Barts.”  It  had  been  leased  to  a milliner  at  £15  a year,  but 
was  then  let  to  another  of  the  same  trade  who  offered  to 
pay  £ 21 . These  shopkeepers  and  other  inhabitants  were  of 
course  affected  by  any  change  of  regulation  in  the  Hospital. 
For  instance,  in  1713  there  was  “a  Peticon  of  divers  persons 
inhabitants  in  the  Long  walk  part  of  Little  Britain  and  St. 
Barthews  Cloysters  touching  the  early  shuting  of  the  severall 
gates  of  this  Hospitall  to  the  prejudice  of  their  Trade.”  The 
Committee  “ thought  fit  to  reject  the  same,”  but,  as  there  was 
then  no  carriage-way  between  Butcher  Hall  Lane  and  Little 
Britain,  it  may  be  owned  that  the  petitioners  had  some  cause 
of  complaint.  The  impression  one  has  of  the  Ditch  and  its 
immediate  surroundings  two  centuries  ago  is  that  they  entered 
very  little  into  the  life  of  the  school,  as  such,  though  they 
were  part  of  its  property. 

The  real  scene  of  school-life  must  have  been  in  the 
Cloisters,  the  “ Garden  ” embraced  by  them,  and  in  the  then 
thickly  covered  ground  now  represented  by  the  Hall  Play. 
In  the  “Garden,”  as  now,  was  the  pump,  but  not,  as  now,  in 


49 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS 

the  centre.  Its  actual  position  was  almost  in  Sixes  corner. 
It  is  mentioned  in  1646  that  one  of  the  favourite  places  for 
the  “laying”  of  foundlings  was  “above  yc  well-yard  staires 
in  ye  passage  goeing  into  ye  seuerall  wards,”  which  implies 
that  there  was  a “ Sixes  ” staircase  in  that  corner,  if  not  on 
the  exact  site  of  the  present  one.  Certainly  the  great  dormi- 
tory of  the  Friars  ran  along  the  east  side  of  the  cloisters, 
and  that  side  has  had  “ wards  ” above  it  practically  for  over 
seven  centuries.  The  habitation  of  the  “ Mayden  children  ” 
was  on  the  south  side  of  the  quadrangle,  over  the  “Giffs” 
cloister,  and  consisted  of  what  the  Franciscans  had  called 
their  “ lesser  dortor.”  In  the  same  neighbourhood  were  the 
Wardrobe,  the  Matron’s  House,  and  the  “ cutting-room.” 
The  latter  is  specially  mentioned  in  an  order  of  July  1715 
that,  “ whereas  the  doore  of  the  Girles  School  going  up  to 
Christ  Church  gate  is  by  experience  found  to  be  very  ill 
convenient,”  it  is  to  be  “ stoped  up  ” and  a new  one  made 
into  the  school  through  “ the  cutting-room.”  The  entry  does 
not  give  us  any  very  definite  topographical  help,  but  it  is 
easy  to  guess  that  the  girls  were  at  times  employed  in  the 
room.  The  present  “ shoe-room  ” and  the  architect’s  offices 
were  no  doubt  used  as  lodgings  for  assistant  masters  or 
beadles,  there  being  in  earlier  days  no  vast  social  distinction 
between  the  two  classes.  In  1762  Robert  Court,  a junior 
clerk  in  the  Counting  House,  was  allotted  “ the  Room  in  the 
Cloyster  ” at  that  time  occupied  by  the  Apothecary,  who 
had  no  objection  to  vacating  it  on  being  offered  “ a con- 
venient Appartment  ” in  the  Infirmary.  But  three  years 
later  Court  complained  “ that  the  Room  he  now  enjoys  in  the 
Cloysters  for  want  of  a constant  Fire  which  he  cannot  keep 
on  account  of  his  attendance  at  the  office  being  exceedingly 
damp,  is  very  injurious  to  his  health  ” ; whereupon  they 
assigned  him  “ the  small  house  ” lately  occupied  by  the 
Under  Girls’  School  Mistress.  Taking  the  “Giffs”  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  other  three  Cloisters,  we  may  conclude  that 
each  of  them  gave  access  to  buildings  on  the  ground  floor, 
though  little  is  on  record  about  these  till  a committee  was 
specially  appointed  to  deal  with  the  ruinous  state  of  the 


E 


50  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


cloisters  in  1714.  Two  years  later  this  body  gave  orders, 
“ upon  view  of  the  severall  doors  coming  into  the  Cloysters,” 
that  “these  following  be  continued  and  raised  (viz1)  the  Hall 
Door,  the  Grammar  School  door,  the  Wardrobe  Door,  the 
Door  of  the  Girles  School,  Mr.  Crews  and  Mr.  Dittons 
Doors.”  Of  these  the  Wardrobe  and  Girls’  School  doors 
gave  on  to  the  “ Gifts,”  the  Hall  and  probably  the  Grammar 
School  on  to  the  west  cloister.  The  whereabouts  of  Mr. 
Crew,  the  Grammar  School  usher,  and  Mr.  Ditton,  the  master 
of  Mr.  Stone’s  Mathematical  boys,  must  be  left  to  the 
imagination.  The  only  certainty  about  the  matter  is  that 
no  master  was  allowed  to  live  in  an  apartment  that  com- 
municated with  his  class-room  or  school.  The  Committee 
were  much  too  knowing  for  that. 

Before  leaving  the  cloisters,  it  will  be  well  to  notice  that 
their  ruinous  condition  is  again  and  again  referred  to  in  the 
records.  One  such  reference  in  1664  will  be  found  in  our 
account  of  the  Fire.  The  first  sub-committee  to  deal  with 
the  problem  was  appointed  in  1669,  being  “desired  to  view 
the  Arches  in  the  Cloysters  which  are  in  very  great  danger  of 
falling  and  to  secure  them  as  they  shall  be  advised.”  “ Esq 
Morris”  (the  friend  of  Sir  Robert  Clayton),  whose  portrait 
hangs  in  the  Court  Room,  gave  £100  for  this  purpose  in 
1670;  but  apparently  the  earnest  appeal  of  Erasmus  Smith 
that  attention  should  be  given  to  the  schools  rather  than  the 
cloisters  caused  little  to  be  done  at  this  time.  We  will  return 
to  him  later,  and  keep  now  to  the  cloisters.  In  1705  they 
were  again  inspected  by  Sir  Anthony  Deane,  and  “ he  with 
the  workmen  having  searched  the  floor  over  the  North 
Cloister”  was  of  opinion  that  “if  the  walls  were  scrued  up 
with  chaines  of  iron  to  prevent  them  from  swelling  out,  the 
said  walls,  with  the  building  over  them,  may  stand  many 
yeares.”  The  reason  for  special  care  of  the  North  Cloister 
was  that  the  building  over  it  was  Whittington’s  Library,  then 
nearly  three  centuries  old,  though,  from  the  scanty  reference 
to  anything  in  the  way  of  a Library  in  the  Minutes,  I doubt 
whether  it  still  served  its  original  purpose;  certainly  in 
Trollope’s  day  it  had  long  been  used  to  provide  dormitories. 


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FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  RKV.  D.  F.  HEYWOOD 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS  51 

Then  they  looked  at  the  East  Cloister  by  the  Counting 
House,  and  recommended  that  the  “ old  ward  ’ {i.e.  the 
Greater  Dortor  of  the  Franciscans)  should  be  “ taken  down 
as  low  as  that  was  which  is  now  the  Girles  ward,  or  as  farr 
as  shall  be  found  needfull,  And  then  the  Arches  to  be  made 
secure  for  bearing  the  walls  ” ; the  new  ward  to  be  built  over 
this  cloister  was  to  be  “ of  about  fourteen  foot  storey  or  as 
high  as  conveniently  may  be  without  prejudice  to  the  lights 
behind.”  The  wall  in  question  received  in  1707  an  inscrip- 
tion to  the  effect  that  it  was  “ rebuilt  at  the  sole  charge  of 
Sr  ffrancis  Child  sometime  Lord  Maior  and  now  President 
of  this  Hospitall.  Anno  Dom.  1705.”  Again  in  1708  it 
was  under  notice  that  “the  Cloysters  are  in  a very  ruinous 
and  bad  condition,  some  part  being  almost  ready  to  drop 
down,”  and  a public  subscription  was  invited  to  meet  the 
expense.  But  more  came  out  of  the  efforts  of  the  special 
committee,  already  referred  to,  of  1714-  They  repaired  “the 
foundations  of  ffive  buttresses  on  the  North  side  and  the 
Caps  of  all  the  buttresses  on  that  side.”  Two  years  later 
they  seem  to  have  brought  all  the  cloisters  to  the  appearance 
which  the  “ Giffs  ” now  presents.  There  were  “ iron  Raills 
to  be  set  up  round  the  cloysters.”  The  pavements  were  all 
relaid,  “ to  begin  with  the  East  Cloyster  from  the  Church 
gate  to  the  passage  leading  up  by  the  Pump  into  the  Town 
Ditch.”  The  arches  were  all  “reduced,”  and  in  each  arch 
“there  shall  be  nine  Iron  barrs  to  be  sett  Arras  fashion, 
each  barr  to  be  an  inch  thick  and  ffive  foot  high,  the  Rail 
barr  not  to  exceed  half  an  inch  in  thickness  and  two  inches 
and  a half  in  breadth.”  This  is  of  course  the  railing  as  so 
long  familiar  in  the  “Giffs.”  In  1716,  “the  middle  Arch  in 
the  Passage  comeing  in  at  the  Gray  ffryars  \i.e.  the  “ Hall- 
Play”]  gate  to  the  Cloysters”  was  “pulled  down  and  a girder 
of  Timber  put  up  in  its  stead”;  this  would  mean  the  arch 
at  the  west  end  of  the  “ Giffs  ” and  would  be  the  scene  of 

imost  of  the  passenger  traffic  from  Newgate  to  Little  Britain. 
It  has  been  said  elsewhere  that,  though  the  Great  Cloister 
was  spared  by  the  Fire,  the  accommodation  in  the  School 
was  greatly  reduced,  especially  eastward  of  the  East  Cloister. 


52  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


It  was  there  that  the  rebuilding  began.  In  1668  there  was 
a resolution  passed  “ that  all  the  old  walls  att  the  East  End 
of  this  Hospital,  where  the  Treasurer’s  House,  the  Compting 
House,  the  Clerke’s  House,  and  the  other  houses  stood, 
should  be  taken  down  forthwith  and  the  ground  cleared 
. . . that  the  compting  house  should  be  on  the  ground  floor, 
and  the  Court  Roome  over  itt,  which  are  to  be  in  length 
44  foote  and  in  breadth  29  foote.  The  Treasurer’s  house 
to  be  upon  parte  of  the  ground  on  which  it  formerly  stood. 
. . . That  all  the  officers  houses  should  be  built  in  one  range 
togeather.”  The  work  was  begun  the  same  summer,*  and 
in  the  following  January  they  were  in  a position  to  estimate 
the  cost  of  the  Counting  House,  Court  Room,  and  Staircase 
at  ^901  3^.  2d.,  including  £ 20  for  a “ marble  mantle  and 
marble  base”  for  the  Court  Room  fireplace.  Whether  the 
Court  Room  then  took  on  all  its  present  beautiful  appear- 
ance inside  I am  unable  to  say ; certainly  some  of  it  may 
well  be  due  to  “a  gentleman  who  was  well  disposed  to  this 
House,”  and  who  in  1727  had  “communicated  his  intention 
of  beautifieing  the  Court  Roome  in  a manner  as  he  thought 
might  be  agreeable  to  the  Governors.” 

But  there  were  some  friends  of  the  Foundation,  and  a 
certain  Mr.  Erasmus  Smith  was  foremost  among  them,  who 
felt  that  the  Counting  House,  spite  of  all  the  charitable 
work  that  it  conducted  for  the  good  of  all  parts  of  the 
country,  was  still  not  the  real  object  for  which  the  School 
existed.  His  generous  design  for  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Hospital  was  first  mentioned  in  November  1670,  and  in  the 
November  following  he  gave  £500  towards  the  same  object; 
but  it  is  not  till  his  letter  of  October  1672  that  we  are  able 
to  see  what  he  really  meant.  “The  great  intendment  of 
this  happy  foundacon” — so  he  wrote  to  the  Governors — 
“ was  not  onely  the  sustaining  poore  children  with  food  and 
raiment,  but  more  principally  theire  discipline  and  education 
in  piety  and  good  literature,  such  as  their  indigent  condicon 
would  not  afford  them  at  home  and  elsewhere.  . . . These 

* Trollope’s  date,  1680  (p.  341),  is  thus  wrong.  The  Counting-House  was 
enlarged  in  1788. 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS 


53 


children  are  scattered  wee  scarce  knew  where  to  the  number 
of  140,  and  have  noe  other  benefitt  of  this  great  charyty 
but  to  be  kept  alive,  which  the  comon  charity  of  each 
Parish  would  have  done  if  this  Hospitall  had  never  been 
founded.  Their  fittest  age  and  season  for  Educacon  for 
ought  wee  know  is  likely  hereby  to  be  lost,  or,  which  is 
worse,  leavened  with  all  manner  of  rudeness  and  roguery 
by  those  with  whom  they  are  suffered  to  converse.  This 
must  needs  be  scandalous  and  derogate  much  from  the 
care  and  creditt  of  our  government.  Neither  can  itt  be 
hid  from  any  man  beholding  the  buildings  erected  in  this 
Hospitall  since  the  unhappy  fire  not  onely  supplying  the 
necessity  but  the  commodiousness  of  our  meanest  servants, 
and  yett  the  Habitacons  of  these  Children  (who  are  indeed 
the  reall  proprietors  of  this  Revenew  and  Charity)  suffered 
by  us  to  lie  neglected  in  Rubbish  and  Ashes.”  This  strong 
appeal  and  rather  serious  indictment,  to  which  no  reply 
was  forthcoming,  seems  to  have  affected  the  meeting  at 
which  it  was  read.  Erasmus  Smith  added  £50  to  his 
previous  gifts,  and  £ 200  was  promised  in  the  room,  the 
estimated  requirement  being  over  £600. 

But  nevertheless  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  keep  the 
various  benevolent  undertakings  of  Erasmus  Smith  distinct 
the  one  from  the  other,  and  it  is  characteristic  of  the  way 
in  which  the  history  of  Christ’s  Hospital  has  so  far  been 
written  that  the  sole  mention  of  him  in  “Trollope”  is  a 
note  on  his  picture  in  the  Court  Room, — “a  melancholy- 
looking portrait  by  a very  moderate  artist.”  It  will  perhaps 
give  some  idea  of  the  activity  of  this  “ melancholy-looking  ” 
benefactor  to  remember  that  before  he  wrote  the  above  letter 
he  had  rebuilt  a “ school,”  which  is  not  specified,  but  was 
probably  intended  to  serve  all  purposes  except  those  of 
Mathematics.  Trollope  says  it  was  badly  built  of  old 
materials.  Erasmus  Smith’s  offer  was  to  rebuild  the  school 
if  the  Hospital  would  provide  the  timber  from  its  estates, 
and  in  that  case  he  reckoned  it  would  cost  him  .£500.  The 
site  chosen  was  at  the  east  end  of  the  Hall-Play,  parallel 
and  near  to  the  present  French  School.  Begun  in  the 


54  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


spring  of  1671,  it  was  finished  in  February  1672,  when 
“ all  the  children  of  this  Hospitall  went  into  the  Schoole 
erected  by  Erasmus  Smith  Esqr,  where  an  oration  was 
spoken  in  the  Gramar  Schoole  by  Luke  Timberlake  a 
Child  of  this  Hospitall  before  Sir  John  ffrederick  Knt 
and  President.”  It  would  appear  that,  in  spite  of  the 
benefactor’s  good  intentions,  the  new  school  was  badly 
built,  and  in  1776  was  further  weakened  by  the  erection 
over  it  of  a new  ward  and  a drawing-school ; so  about 
1790  the  whole  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  another  erected 
at  the  expense  of  another  “Smith,”  John  by  name,  pretty 
much  on  the  site  of  the  present  Grammar  School  in  the 
Ditch.  I know  of  no  print  or  drawing  which  preserves 
the  outward  appearance  of  Erasmus  Smith’s  building,  and 
the  lack  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  ; for  here,  not  in  John 
Smith’s  building,  Coleridge  “ enjoyed  the  inestimable 
advantage  of  a very  sensible,  though  at  the  same  time  a 
very  severe  master,  the  Reverend  James  Bowyer”;  here 
Charles  Lamb  learned  nothing  because  his  master,  Matthew 
Feilde,  “ was  engaged  in  gay  parties,  or  with  his  courtly  bow 
at  some  episcopal  levee,  when  he  should  have  been  attending 
on  us”;  and  here  Leigh  Hunt’s  “grammar  seemed  always 
to  open  at  the  same  place,”  Feilde  “languidly  bearing  his 
cane  as  if  it  were  a lily,  and  hearing  our  eternal  Dominases 
and  As  in  praesenti's  with  an  air  of  ineffable  endurance.’’ 
It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  Erasmus  Smith  wished  his 
School  “ on  the  Sabbath  day  to  be  sett  apart  for  publick 
worship,”  but  was  told  this  would  contravene  His  Majesty’s 
Regulations. 

This  done,  Erasmus  Smith  pressed  forward  the  matter 
of  more  accommodation  for  children  boarded  out  in  the 
country.  In  June  1673  the  Committee  received  from  him 
a proposal  which  was  calculated  still  further  to  crowd  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Garden.  He  told  them 
he  was  “further  willing  to  build  . . . two  wards  upon  ye 
piece  of  void  ground  that  lyes  before  the  Compting  House, 
Provided  that  the  Hospital  find  rough  Timber  for  the  hole 
worke,  and  that  the  said  wards  be  bedded  round  at  the 


THE  GARDEN  AND  THE  GRECIANS’  CLOISTER 


55 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS 

cost  and  charges  of  the  Governors.  He  also  stipulated 
that  they  should  hereafter  consider  whether  their  revenues 
will  permit  them  to  erect  two  wards  “ upon  part  of  the 
Towne  Ditch  adjoining  to  London  Wall.”  I do  not  know 
if  the  last  phrase  is  to  be  taken  as  implying  that  any  part 
of  the  City  Wall  was  still  standing,  but  the  entry  shows 
the  effect  Erasmus  Smith  had  upon  the  future  configuration 
of  the  Hospital,  for  the  wards  in  the  Town  Ditch  on 
“ ground  that  lyes  before  the  Compting  House  ” are  un- 
questionably represented  by  Sixes,  Sevens,  and  Eights, 
which  continue  the  line  of  the  Greater  Dortor.  This  par- 
ticular project  of  Mr.  Erasmus  Smith  was  estimated  to  cost 
£489  ys.  6d.  The  block  over  the  east  cloister,  as  already 
stated,  was  rebuilt  by  Sir  Francis  Child  in  1705. 

Before  we  leave  the  Garden  two  other  contemporary  names 
deserve  grateful  mention.  The  south  side  was  rebuilt  at  the 
cost  of  Sir  Robert  Clayton,  sometime  Lord  Mayor,  under 
the  guidance  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  partly  upon  the 
“ Giffs  ” and  partly  on  land  appropriated  from  the  parish  of 
Christ  Church,  by  the  direction  of  Wren  as  Surveyor-General, 
and  with  the  connivance  of  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the 
Court  of  Aldermen.  Trollope  has  a story,  of  which  I find  no 
trace  in  the  records,  that  Clayton  desired  to  remain  “ anony- 
mous” in  the  matter,  and  that  his  partner,  Mr.  Daniel  Morris, 
promised  to  bear  half  the  cost  (£5,000),  but  was  prevented 
by  death  from  so  doing.  The  anonymity  of  this  worthy 
benefactor  is  very  probable,  and  the  inscription  which,  as 
I write,  has  just  been  removed  to  Horsham  leaves  no  doubt 
as  to  his  bearing  the  cost  of  “most  Part  of  this  Fabrick. 
Anno  Dom.  1682.”  It  was  probably  in  the  same  modest 
manner  that  Sir  John  Frederick,  another  Lord  Mayor,  who 
became  President  of  the  Hospital  in  1662,  first  mooted  his 
design  for  rebuilding  the  great  Hall  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Garden  ; for  it  is  recorded  in  February  1671  that  “a  worthy 
person  that  desires  not  to  be  knowne  ” had  offered  to  “ cover 
the  hall.”  His  idea,  no  doubt,  was  that  the  ravages  of  the 
Fire  could  be  repaired ; but  this  proved  to  be  impossible, 
and  the  Refectory  was  demolished  down  to  the  roof  of  the 


56  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


cloister.  The  new  Hall,  which  was  built  about  1680  at  the 
sole  cost  of  Sir  John  Frederick,  lasted  till  the  third  decade 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  Its  appearance,  both  inside  and 
out,  is  very  familiar.  Its  roof  carried  two  lanterns ; it  had 
five  large  windows  on  each  side,  those  on  the  west  being 
blocked  up  in  order  to  provide  space  for  Verrio’s  huge 
canvas  portraying  King  Charles  II.  in  the  act  of  delivering 
the  charter  to  the  Royal  Mathematical  School — a picture 
painted  at  the  instigation  of  Mr.  Secretary  Pepys.  Under 
it  were  the  pulpit  and  a small  gallery  let  into  the  wall  for 
choir  boys.  The  tables  for  the  wards  were  in  three  long 
rows,  and  in  a gallery  at  the  north  end  was  the  organ, 
presented  by  a Governor  named  Skelton,  and  doctored  with 
much  assiduity  by  the  great  Renatus  Harris.  Trollope  is 
responsible  for  the  statement,  which  I have  failed  to  verify, 
that  it  cost  Sir  John  the  sum  of  .£5,000.  Certainly  the 
worthy  President,  who,  according  to  “Stow,”  was  a scion 
of  the  House,  was  treated  to  every  kind  of  flattery  and 
laudation,  a specimen  of  which  appears  in  the  account  of 
Speech  Day.  He  occupied  the  Presidential  chair  for  a longer 
period  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  other  except  its 
present  royal  occupant,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

So  much  for  the  buildings  on  the  four  sides  of  the  Garden  ; 
but  a word  must  be  said  of  other  uses  to  which  both  the 
Cloisters  and  the  centre  of  the  quadrangle  were  put.  The 
original  burial-ground  of  the  Hospital  lay  with  a grim  irony 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Infirmary,  not  of  course  the 
present  building  nor  its  predecessor  mentioned  by  Trollope 
as  built  in  1720  [instead  of  1732],  but  an  earlier  building 
nearer  to  the  present  Bath.  Its  exact  position  is  fairly  shown 
in  an  order  of  1758  to  “pull  down  the  Smith’s  Shop  and 
repair  the  Carpenter’s  Shop  in  the  Church  Yard  behind  the 
Writing  School,”  a carpenter’s  shop  being  there  to  this 
day.  In  November,  1729,  it  was  ordered  that  “a  view  be 
taken  with  workmen  of  the  sickward  and  Church-yard  be- 
longing to  this  Hospitall,  it  being  apprehended  that  Burial 
of  the  Dead  near  the  Foundation  hath  prejudiced  the  said 
building.”  This  no  doubt  was  the  reason  why  in  1721 


57 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS 

they  had  already  begun  to  bury  beneath  the  cloisters  in 
specially  prepared  vaults.  There  is  a reference  in  that  year 
to  “the  vault  under  the  new  Room  in  the  North  Cloyster, 
which  “ shall  be  from  henceforward  used  for  a Buryall  place 
for  the  children  of  this  house.”  This  “ new  Room  ” is  else- 
where called  “ the  new  Parlour,”  and  may  have  answered  the 
purpose  of  what  later  generations  called  the  Day  Room  ; it  is 
characteristic  of  the  age  that  a vault  should  have  been  placed 
beneath  it  and  that  the  cloister  should  have  been  known 
in  consequence  as  the  “Dead  Cloi.”  But  by  174°  other 
accommodation  appears  to  have  become  necessary.  For 
instructions  were  then  given  that  “ the  vault  in  the  Cloysters 
where  the  Children  of  this  House  are  buried  when  full  be 
closed  up  with  brick  and  from  thenceforward  that  such 
children  as  shall  happen  to  Dye  be  buried  in  the  Quad- 
rangle in  the  middle  of  the  said  Cloysters.”  Of  course,  for 
many  years  there  has  been  no  interment  within  the  walls. 
Dr.  Rice  was  buried  there  in  1853,  and  Mr.  Trollope  in  1863  ; 
but  in  old  days  the  funerals  of  the  “ Blues  ” must  have  been 
quite  gruesomely  impressive.  “ The  appearance  of  the  youth- 
ful mourners,”  says  the  wordy  Trollope,  “moving  with 
measured  steps  by  torchlight,  and  pealing  their  sepulchral 
dirge  along  the  sombre  cloisters  of  the  ancient  priory,  was 
irresistibly  affecting ; and  the  impressive  burial  service,  suc- 
ceeding to  the  notes  of  the  anthem  as  it  sunk  sorrowfully 
on  the  lips  of  the  children,  riveted  the  spectator  insensibly 
into  a mood  of  serious  and  edifying  reflection.”  But  even  in 
Trollope’s  time  (1834)  the  “striking  effect  produced  by  the 
funereal  glare  of  the  torches  ” was  a thing  of  the  past,  and 
the  ceremony  took  place  in  the  daytime. 

The  “Garden”  ceased  to  deserve  its  name  in  1779,  when  it 
was  arranged  to  “open  the  Grass  Plot  in  the  Cloysters  and 
pave  it  as  a Play-Place  for  the  Children  ” at  a cost  of  £382. 

The  present  archway  from  the  Garden  to  the  Hall-Play 
is  the  successor  of  a much  narrower  passage  which  used  to 
be  called  “the  Creek.”  It  gave  access  to  the  Old  Grammar 
School  and  a multitude  of  miscellaneous  buildings  in  the 
western  territory  of  the  Hospital.  Here  the  Franciscans 


58  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


had  their  Little  Cloister,  with  its  Infirmary  and  dole-house 
(north  and  west  side),  its  kitchen  and  hall  (east  side),  its 
shaving-house  and  guest-house  (south  side).  All  these  lay 
in  the  northern  half  of  the  space.  To  the  south,  nearer 
Newgate  Street,  were  the  Franciscan  Bake-house  and  the 
Brew-house,  which  seem  to  have  continued  to  be  used  as 
such  by  the  Hospital.  But  clearly  in  this  southern  half  there 
was  a large  space  to  which  the  “Gififs”  one  way  and  a gate 
in  Newgate  the  other  way  gave  general  access,  and  which 
went  by  the  name  of  the  “ Gray-Fryers,”  or  more  exactly 
“ Gray-Fryers  Court.”  The  last  phrase  occurs  in  a note 
(dated  August  27th,  1667)  to  the  effect  that  “a  tenant  in- 
formed the  Committee  that  Mr.  Offley  was  digging  a cellor 
under  the  great  gate  to  the  streete  or  passage  that  leads  out 
of  Newgate  Markett  into  this  Hospitall  and  the  Gray  Ffryers 
Court.”  Here  in  the  days  that  followed  the  dissolution  of 
the  Franciscan  Monastery,  Richard  Grafton,  the  “ King’s 
Printer"  to  Edward  VI.  and  the  first  active  Treasurer  of 
Christ’s  Hospital,  had  his  printing-press.  Here,  as  in  “ the 
Towne  Ditch,”  the  Governors  derived  part  of  their  income 
from  the  rents  of  houses  let  to  private  persons.  Conspicuous 
among  these  was  the  family  called  Howes.  To  the  Con- 
temporaneous Account  of  John  Howes  we  have  already 
referred.  He  indeed  had  some  official  connexion  with  the 
Hospital  as  “ renter  and  gatherer  of  legacies,”  a post  which 
he  doubtless  owed  to  Richard  Grafton.  His  son  Edmund 
carried  on  and  enlarged  Stow’s  Annales.  In  1637  the 
dwelling  which  this  family  occupied  was  re-let  to  Timothy 
Howes,  and  is  described  in  the  minute  both  as  being  in 
“Gray  ffryers  Court”  and  as  “situate  at  the  west  end  of 
Christ  Church”  (or  close  to  the  present  carpenter’s  shed). 
The  name  of  this  family  is  always  written  “ Howe  ” in  the 
registers  of  Christ  Church,  where  it  figures  frequently  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  At  Lady  Day  1647 
two  houses  in  “Gray  Fryers  Court”  were  let  on  lease,  and 
another  entry  dated  November  1674  says  that  “ Dr.  Moreton, 
Physitian,  liveing  in  Gray  ffryers  House  had  liberty  to  take 
downe  part  of  a buttress  belonging  to  Nurse  Ambroses  Ward 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS  59 

and  the  which  is  ready  to  fall,  he  making  it  good  at  his  owne 
charges.”  But  the  tenants  were  not  all  merchants  like  Howes 
or  professional  men  like  this  doctor.  In  1700  John  Austin, 

“ a Siderman,”  was  allowed  to  lease  “ the  little  shop  and 
cellar  in  Gray  fryars"  for  £3  $s.  a year,  “to  tye  which 
bargaine  he  gave  2 s.  6d.  to  the  poores  box.” 

Nor  did  the  Hospital  give  up  the  “Gray  Fryars”  wholly  to 
tenants.  One  of  the  chief  buildings  that  looked  into  it  was 
the  Mathematical  School,  erected  about  1710  at  the  west  end 
of  the  “ Giffs,”  so  that  southward  it  faced  the  burial-ground 
of  Christ  Church.  The  early  history  of  the  “ Mathemat,” 
which  on  general  questions  of  its  management  is,  as  will 
be  seen  elsewhere,  very  voluminous,  is  also  very  scanty  as 
to  its  locale.  The  “ King’s  Boys”  must  have  been  taught  and 
lodged  elsewhere  for  forty  years  before  this  school  was  built 
in  the  “Gray  Fryars,”  and  wherever  they  were  they  had 
not  only  class  rooms  but  an  observatory.  No  boys,  says 
an  entry  of  1684,  are  to  be  allowed  on  “ the  Mathematicall 
ledds,  unless  he  (the  master)  present  there.”  Comparing 
this  with  another,  dated  1674,  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Leake, 
the  first  Mathematical  Master,  was  to  teach  his  forty  “att 
the  upper  table  in  the  Greate  Hall  until  such  time  as  the 
Schoole  shall  be  fitted  ” for  their  reception,  we  may  place 
the  erection  of  their  first  habitat  between  the  two  dates. 
But  the  “ Mathemats  ” of  the  eighteenth  century,  being 
looked  upon  as  the  most  important  part  of  the  School, 
certainly  enjoyed  the  most  commodious  of  its  buildings, 
though  one  that  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Wren  on  an 
insecure  foundation.  It  stood  at  the  west  end  of  Sir  Robert 
Clayton’s  block.  The  ground  floor,  on  a level  with  the 
“Giffs,”  is  said  by  Trollope  to  have  been  used  as  a warehouse 
up  to  1775  ; but  this  statement  must  be  modified  by  an  entry 
dated  February  1730,  which  records  an  arrangement  that 
“ the  Room  under  the  Mathematicall  School,  formerly  used 
as  a Free  School,”  should  be  made  into  a Grammar  School 
room.  Above  this  ground  floor  on  the  westward  side  was 
the  classroom  for  the  “ King’s  Boys,”  a lofty  apartment 
reaching  to  the  roof  of  the  building,  on  which  they  had  their 


6o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


observatory.  The  “ King’s  Ward  ” was  to  the  south,  over- 
looking the  churchyard  of  the  parish.  It  was  arranged  in 
1735  that  “the  Boys  of  the  King’s  Ward  do  from  henceforth 
eat  their  meals  in  the  Royal  Mathematicall  School  at  the 
seuerall  Tables  as  they  now  stand,”  and  it  can  easily  be 
imagined  that  these  “ Mathemats  ” became  a distinct  caste, 
governed  by  their  own  social  laws  and  with  a general 
contempt  for  laws  of  any  other  origin.  From  this  castle  at 
the  end  of  the  “ Giffs  ” they  would  swoop  down  to  harry 
and  to  plunder  the  rest  of  the  community  till  the  system 
could  be  endured  no  longer. 

Before  passing  from  the  south  side  of  the  “Hall-Play” 
to  the  north,  it  will  be  well  to  note  that  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  school’s  history  its  only  access  to  Newgate  Street 
was  by  a narrow  entry  called  “Gray  Fryers  Gate.”  It  was 
only  in  1825,  when  preparation  was  being  made  for  the 
erection  of  the  present  Hall,  that  the  Governors,  with  the 
co-operation  of  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital,  secured  a large 
Newgate  Street  frontage  and  made  the  big  gates.  But 
nearly  a century  earlier  there  had  been  a great  clearance 
to  the  extreme  north  of  the  “ Hall-Play.”  In  1731  the  Sick- 
Ward  was  reported  to  be  “an  old  ruinous  building  and 
absolutely  necessary  to  be  pulled  down  and  rebuilt,  it  being 
in  great  danger  of  Falling.”  There  was  a general  desire 
to  make  it  larger  and  “more  comodious  and  ary,”  and 
this  was  done  by  pulling  down  “two  old  Tenements  and 
part  of  the  Stabling  in  the  Stable  Yard  in  Gray  Fryers  lyeing 
contiguous,”  and  throwing  their  site  into  that  of  the  Infirmary. 
In  the  meantime,  while  the  building  was  in  progress,  the 
patients  were  thoughtfully  accommodated  in  the  “two  old 
houses  in  the  Stable  Yard  in  Gray  Fryers.”  The  new 
Infirmary  was  partly  constructed  of  the  materials  of  some 
old  houses  pulled  down  in  Butcher  Hall  Lane,  and  was 
insured  in  the  “ Hand  in  Hand  Office  for  ^j^,ooo,  or  as 
much  more  as  the  said  office  will  admit  of.”  In  1733,  as 
stated  in  the  minutes,  “the  Intabliture  Round  the  Piazzas 
of  the  New  Sickward”  was  further  adorned  “with  Triglipth 
and  Bells.” 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS  61 

The  rest  of  the  history  of  the  Hall-Play  and  its  buildings 
is  soon  told.  Mr.  Josiah  Bacon,  who  made  his  will  in  1703, 
left  the  residue  of  his  estate  to  the  Hospital ; the  bequest 
caused  some  litigation  between  the  Idospital  and  the  executor, 
and  it  was  only  in  1727  that  the  latter  handed  over  to  the 
Governors  a sum  of  £22,450.  With  this  they  decided  to 
remedy  some  of  the  overcrowding  in  the  Hospital  by  erecting 
two  new  wards  at  the  back  of  the  Writing  School  and  calling 
them  “Bacon’s  Wards.”  This  large  expenditure  of  capital, 
like  that  of  the  sums  given  by  Erasmus  Smith  for  his 
Grammar  School,  was  not  destined  to  serve  a permanent 
purpose.  It  is  possible  that,  both  of  them  being  in  the  near 
neighbourhood  of  the  Town  Ditch,  sufficient  care  had  not 
been  taken  with  the  foundations.  Anyhow,  both  went  down 
in  the  course  of  a general  clearance  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Between  1795  and  1835  every  vestige 
of  the  Grey  Friars  Monastery  disappeared,  with  the  exception 
of  the  “ Giffs.”  This  great  undertaking,  which  seems  to  have 
been  forced  on  the  Governors  by  the  dilapidated  condition  of 
the  buildings  generally,  embraces  the  terms  of  office  of  three 
Treasurers — William  Gill,  James  Palmer,  whose  portrait  by 
Lawrence  looks  benevolently  up  the  Court  Room,  and 
Thomas  Poynder,  whose  picture  hangs  appropriately  in  the 
Hall.  It  was  found  impossible  to  proceed  without  an  Act 
of  Parliament,  and  in  1795  “35  Geo.  III.  cap.  civ.”  pro- 
vided the  necessary  powers.  The  Act  has  its  interesting 
features  apart  from  its  actual  provisions.  It  shows  that  a 
portion  of  the  “Hall-Play”  was  still  called  “Grey-Friars,” 
and  the  Governors  were  empowered  to  take  over  “ so  much 
and  such  part  of  it,”  provided  that  they  did  not  “ shut  up  or 
render  inconvenient  the  Way  or  Access  from  Newgate  Street 
through  Grey  Friars  Passage,  and  from  thence  turning  im- 
mediately eastward  over  part  of  Grey  Friars  to  Christ  Church 
Yard.”  This  pathway  is  clearly  shown  in  the  well-known 
print,  dated  1775,  of  the  old  Mathematical  School,  but  oddly 
enough,  the  churchyard  gates  are  represented  as  closed.  It 
mentions,  as  being  buildings  situate  within  the  “Grey  Friars,” 
warehouses,  stables,  and  “ the  Publick  House  called  the 


62  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

Harrow.”  It  shows  that  the  old  burying  ground  behind  the 
Writing  School  was  used  by  prescriptive  right  as  a resting- 
place  for  the  parishioners  of  Christ  Church  and  the  prisoners 
from  Newgate,  as  well  as  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  Hospital. 
It  speaks  of  the  need  for  “the  free  Admission  of  Air  to  the 
Hospital,”  and  for  “the  exercise  of  the  children  harboured 
therein.”  It  mentions  “the  Long  Walk”  lying  between  the 
School  and  St.  Bartholomew’s,  as  well  as  a number  of  other 
“Foot  Paths  or  Ways,  which  have  been  used  by  the  Publick 
through  the  Courts,  Yards,  and  Places.”  The  immediate 
effect  of  the  Act  is  obvious.  The  School  got  more  breathing 
space,  as  buildings  were  cleared  off  the  “Grey  Friars”  and 
the  “Hall-Play”  became  the  fine  open  space  it  is,  right  up 
to  the  Compter  (now  the  Gymnasium)  wall,  and  a similar 
clearance  was  made  at  the  Little  Britain  gates.  The  church- 
yard behind  the  Writing  School  was  to  be  added  to  the 
ground  available  for  building  purposes,  and  the  parishioners 
and  the  prisoners  were  to  be  compensated  for  their  loss  of  a 
cemetery  by  the  substitution  of  a parcel  of  ground  “ upon 
which  there  are  at  present  divers  Buildings  belonging  to 
Christ’s  Hospital,”  situate  in  the  parish  of  St.  Botolph’s, 
Aldersgate.  It  then  fronted  upon  the  narrow  passage  lead- 
ing from  Butcher  Hall  Lane  to  Little  Britain,  but  is  now 
one  with  the  churchyard  of  St.  Botolph’s,  Aldersgate ; and  in 
1884  my  predecessor  at  Christ  Church,  in  conjunction  with 
the  parish  vestry,  gave  up  the  interest  of  the  parish  in  this 
Aldersgate  ground,  which  now  forms  part  of  the  “ Postmen’s 
Park.” 

But  the  important  operations  for  which  this  Act  gave  per- 
mission were  greater  than  the  Hospital’s  finances  could  meet, 
without  some  special  aid.  Therefore  a Building  Fund  was 
started  in  1803 — not  the  happiest  of  moments — and  was  kept 
open  for  over  thirty  years.  It  realised  ,£44,000,  and  it  is  of 
interest  to  notice  that  the  subscription  list,  which  contains 
some  famous  names  such  as  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  Shute 
Barrington,  Prince  Bishop  of  Durham,  also  witnesses  to  the 
generosity  of  “ Old  Blues.”  The  “ Amicable  Society,”  founded 
in  1775,  sent  £250,  and  the  gifts  of  other  former  Scholars  of 


FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  REV.  L>.  F.  HEYWOOO 


THE  SCHOOL’S  BUILDINGS  63 

the  House  accounted  for  nearly  £17,000  out  of  the  total 
raised.  In  one  way  or  another  the  Governing  Body  expended 
upon  this  great  scheme  of  rebuilding  over  £150,000,  between 
the  passing  of  the  enabling  Act  in  1795  and  the  year  of  the 
Oueen’s  Accession,  and  it  will  be  well  to  conclude  this  chapter 
by  saying  roughly  how  such  a sum  was  spent.  It  may  be 
added  that  the  fund  remained  open  for  years  after  the  work 
was  finished,  and  finally  realised  almost  enough  to  cover  this 
large  outlay. 

To  begin,  as  we  are  there  already,  with  the  “ Hall-Play.” 
Mr.  Bacon’s  two  wards  were  demolished,  together  with  the 
miscellaneous  buildings  between  the  Sick  Ward  and  the 
Newgate  Street  border.  Along  the  north  side  of  the  “ Hall- 
Play”  at  right  angles  to  Sir  John  Frederick’s  hall,  which 
fell  with  a great  crash  in  the  course  of  the  excavations,  rose 
Mr.  Shaw’s  new  Hall,  which  for  seventy  years  has  deceived 
so  many  into  a belief  that  it  is  the  work  of  the  Royal  builder 
of  the  chapels  of  Eton  and  “ King’s.”  The  total  cost  of  it  was 
£61,000,  much  of  which  must  have  been  due  to  difficulties 
caused  by  the  Town  Ditch.  The  stone  was  laid  with  much 
pomp  and  circumstance  on  April  28th,  1825,  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  acting  for  King  George  IV.,  just  as  on  October  23rd, 
1897,  and  with  the  same  trowel,  the  stone  of  the  future  Hall 
at  West  Horsham  was  laid  by  the  (then)  Prince  of  Wales  on 
behalf  of  Queen  Victoria.  Trollope,  who  was  present,  and 
who  ought  to  have  been  a reporter,  records  that  the  Bishop 
of  London  (Dr.  Howley)  offered  prayer,  and  “after  a moment’s 
repose  in  meditation  upon  this  solemn  address  to  the  Almighty, 
a shout  of  acclamation  burst  forth  from  the  assembled  throng, 
and  the  company  separated.”  The  Hall  was  opened  on 
May  29th,  1829,  and  this  time  our  eye-witness  confesses  to 
entertaining  mingled  feelings.  “It  is  melancholy,”  he  says, 
“ to  reflect  upon  the  mortal  changes  which  had  taken  place 
in  the  interval.  The  royal  hand  which  gave  the  first  auspicious 
impulse  to  the  rising  pile  was  cold  in  death.”  But  on  the 
other  hand  “ every  British  bosom  must  have  throbbed  with 
inward  pride  in  the  contemplation  of  so  vast  a monument 
of  national  benevolence.”  The  latter  sensation  may  well 


64  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

have  been  more  sincere  than  the  former,  and  certainly 
William  Thompson,  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  presided  at  the 
opening,  had  reason  to  be  proud ; for  he  was  also  President 
of  the  Hospital,  and  had  been  as  generous  to  the  Building 
Fund  then  as  through  his  gold  medals  he  has  been  an  incen- 
tive to  the  scholars  of  the  House  ever  since. 

The  erection  of  the  present  Infirmary  had  slightly  pre- 
ceded that  of  the  Great  Hall,  for  it  was  begun  in  1820  on 
land  acquired  from  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital  by  an  ex- 
change highly  advantageous  to  both  parties.  At  the  present 
moment  there  is  a desire  in  which  everyone  joins,  that  a 
modus  may  be  arranged  by  which  St.  Bartholomew’s  shall 
possess  its  own  again.  Having  finished  the  Infirmary  and 
the  Hall,  the  Governors  turned  in  1829  to  the  buildings  in 
a line  with  the  old  Hall  at  the  east  end  of  the  “ Hall-Play,” 
where  five  wards  (ix.  to  xiii.)  with  schools  on  the  ground 
floor  were  put  up  at  a cost  of  £14,000.  Thence  they  passed 
to  the  north  side  of  the  Ditch,  where  the  erection  of  two 
wards,  the  Grammar,  the  Mathematical  and  the  Drawing 
Schools,  was  entrusted  to  “ the  respectable  firm  ” of  Messrs. 
Cubitt,  the  contract  price  being  £12,492.  And  they  com- 
pleted their  task  by  rebuilding  Erasmus  Smith’s  and  Sir 
Francis  Child’s  wards  (now  i.  to  viii.)  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Garden,  demolishing  the  east  cloister  and  replacing 
Whittington’s  Library  and  its  “ Dead  Cloi  ” by  the  present 
Grecians’  Cloister,  at  an  outlay  of  £26,100. 

This  enormous  quantity  of  bricks  and  stone  and  mortar 
was  a costly  luxury,  and  it  was  secured  at  the  expense  of 
some  inevitable  vandalism.  But  there  is  no  question  that 
the  contractors  earned  their  money  by  putting  in  good  work. 
Few  buildings  of  the  size  of  Christ’s  Hospital  have  required 
less  structural  repairs  in  seventy  years.  To-day,  when  their 
demolition  is  imminent  within  a few  months,  they  are  all  as 
sound  as  ever,  and  the  “ house-breaker  ” has  his  work  cut  out 
for  him  ; so  that  the  old  question  finds  its  inevitable  vent : 
“To  what  purpose  was  this  waste?” 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


“lam  grateful  to  Christ’s  Hospital  ...  for  its  making  me  acquainted  with 
the  languages  of  Homer  and  Ovid.” — Leigh  Hunt. 

IT  will  be  necessary  to  occupy  a considerable  space  here- 
after with  an  account  of  the  Mathematical  Foundation 
of  King  Charles  II.,  and  it  will  appear  from  that  account 
that  the  Grammar  School  was  not  always  able  to  hold  its 
own  against  the  King’s  School.  But,  with  a longer  history 
at  its  back,  and  with  practically  all  the  great  names  in  the 
Hospital’s  roll  of  fame  on  its  books,  the  Grammar  School 
claims  the  priority,  and  up  to  the  present  it  has  always  been 
a Grammar  School  Master  who  is,  nominally  or  actually, 
the  Head  Master.  In  the  first  list  of  salaries,  “John  Robyn- 
son,”  the  “ Gramer  Schoole  Mayster,”  receives  a higher  wage 
than  the  “ Clarke  ” or  the  “ Chirurgione,”  and  that  is  all  that 
is  known  about  him.  It  must  even  be  left  doubtful  whether 
his  reign  lasted  till  the  advent  of  Ralph  Waddington  in 
1564.  Trollope,  who  gives  Waddington  a cursory  mention 
as  “ one  of  the  early  masters,”  preserves  the  epitaph  upon  his 
monument,  from  which  it  is  to  be  gathered  that  he  was 
“ hujus  Scholae  per  annos  48  Moderator  dignissimus,”  and 
that  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  in  1614,  two  years  after 
his  retirement.  He  married,  according  to  this  epitaph,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-seven,  and  the  only  mention  of  him  in  the 
Christ  Church  registers  deals  with  a marriage  of  two  people, 
presumably  his  servants,  and  describes  him  as  “ Mr.  Wadyng- 
ton  Mr  of  the  grammar  school.”  We  can  see  something  of 
the  nature  of  his  work  from  an  entry  in  the  Court  Book, 
July  19th,  1581.  “The  Gram  Skole  beinge  viewed  this  daie 
ther  is  found  as  ffoloweth.”  In  the  “ Vpp  Skole”  there  were 


66  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


15  “ Howse  children,”  or  foundationers,  and  64  “Towne 
children,”  or  paying  pupils  ; in  the  “ Lower  Skole ,”  27  “Howse 
children”  and  51  “Towne  children.”  But  the  “Towne 
children”  are  in  this  entry  separated  into  two  classes.  In 
the  upper  school  “ Mr  Waddingtons  alowaunce”  is  given  as 
25  pupils,  and  the  other  39  are  said  to  be  “w‘oute  Bills,” 
which  presumably  means  that  they  were  free  scholars.  It 
will  be  explained  later  on  in  this  chapter  that  throughout  the 
history  of  the  Hospital  till  within  living  memory  masters 
were  allowed  to  eke  out  their  income  by  taking  private 
pupils,  who  joined  their  classes  and  became  as  much  a part 
of  the  school  as  day-boys  can.  “ Waddington’s  alowaunce” 
of  twenty-five  would  not  have  satisfied  Shadrach  Helmes 
(1662-78),  who  had  eighty.  But  the  permission  thus 
granted  to  Waddington  made  him  a teacher  of  considerable 
importance  in  the  City,  and,  if  we  only  had  a list  of  his  day- 
boys, it  might  be  possible  to  claim  that  the  benefits  of 
Christ’s  Hospital  were  extended  for  a small  consideration 
to  some  who  are  now  the  honoured  names  of  “ the  stately 
times  of  great  Elizabeth.”*  Indeed,  my  friend  Mr.  A.  W. 
Lockhart,  the  present  Steward  of  the  Hospital,  whose 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  school  and  its  sons  is  without 
rival,  has  suggested  a theory  of  some  interest.  He  has 
observed  in  Dr.  Venn’s  list  of  the  members  of  Caius  College 
that  between  1574  and  1590  several  students  were  admitted 
pensioners  or  scholars,  who  are  described  as  having  been 
taught  at  “Grey  Friars’”  School,  others  “at  school  under 
Mr.  Waddington,”  one  “at  the  Grey  Friars’  School  under 
Mr.  Waddington,”  one  “at  Blackfriars’  School  under  Mr. 
Waddington,”  and  one  “at  Christ’s  Hospital  under  Mr. 
Waddington.”  The  last  named  entered  Caius  in  1589,  and 
he  is  the  first  case  in  which  the  proper  name  of  the  founda- 
tion is  given  in  the  list.  The  majority  of  the  names  (five  out 
of  seven)  are,  however,  not  to  be  found  in  the  lists  of  Christ’s 
Hospital,  and  Mr.  Lockhart  has  therefore  suggested  that 
Waddington  really  had  two  schools,  the  Grammar  School 
consisting  of  the  “ House  Children,”  and  the  “ Grey  Friars’ 

* It  is  certain  that  Warren  Hastings  was  prepared  for  “John  Company’s”  service 
by  our  Writing  Master,  Mr.  Thomas  Smith,  and  attended  Christ’s  Hospital  as  a 
day-boy  in  1749. 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


67 


School  ” containing  the  “ Towne  Children,”  the  latter  being  so 
named  to  keep  up  the  memory  of  a school  which  had  been 
maintained  in  the  monastery. 

The  notion  is  attractive,  but  the  proof  is  not  yet  forth- 
coming. To  begin  with,  the  monastic  educational  establish- 
ment, though  likely  enough,  rests  only  on  the  foundation 
of  a pious  opinion,  by  which  we  hope  that  the  Franciscans, 
being  a learned  order,  did  not  keep  all  their  learning  to  them- 
selves, and  no  instance  has  been  adduced  of  a mention  of 
“Grey  Friars’  School”  in  the  Caius  list  during  the  time 
when  the  Friars  were  in  possession.  The  passage  in  Stow 
on  which  Mr.  Lockhart  also  relies  (“Again,  in  the  year  1553, 
after  the  erection  of  Christ’s  Hospital  ...  a School  was  also 
ordained  there  at  the  citizens’  charges  ”)  is  simply  a testimony 
to  Stow’s  accuracy,  not  to  the  existence  of  a separate  “ Grey 
Friars’  School.”  For  the  Grammar  School  was  not  the  first 
necessity,  nor  any  other  school,  but  rather  the  proper  care  of 
helpless  children.  The  masters,  as  stated  elsewhere,  drew 
the  salary  in  respect  of  their  first  quarter’s  work  on  Mid- 
summer Day  1553.  Stow  is  therefore  speaking  of  the 
ordinary  instruction,  not  of  any  school  within  the  school. 
It  is  a more  serious  objection  that  the  Hospital’s  records  do 
not  offer  any  confirmation  of  the  theory,  though  the  name 
“Grey  Friars,”  as  attached  to  part  of  the  premises,  was  in 
familiar  use  till  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  At  the 
very  time  that  the  Caius  list  contains  the  phrase  “Grey 
Friars’  School,”  the  Court  Book  gives  its  account  of  the 
“view”  of  “the  Gram  Skole,”  already  referred  to,  without 
giving  the  slightest  hint  of  the  employment  of  the  two 
names.  It  seems  therefore  obvious  that  the  mistake*  must  be 
attributed  to  the  Caius  dons,  who,  as  one  instance  shows, 
were  not  too  sure  whether  to  write  “ Grey  Friars  ” or  “ Black 
Friars,”  and  came  in  process  of  time  to  realise  that  they 
were  dealing  with  Christ’s  Hospital,  whether  their  pensioners 
were  day-boys  or  on  the  foundation.  Nor  is  there,  un- 
fortunately, any  similar  list  in  regard  to  any  other  college. 
Lastly,  there  is  nothing  to  bear  out  the  idea  in  Waddington’s 

A similar  mistake  still  prevails  in  the  expressions  “ Christ  Church  boys”  and 
| “ Christ  Church  Hospital.” 


68  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


epitaph,  which  Trollope  has  preserved,  and  which  does  not 
err  on  the  side  of  omissions  : — 

“ Angligenm  hunc  peperit  Londinum  gloria  gentis 
ALtona  huic  artis  semina  prima  dedit, 

Granta  tulit  segetem  fructumque  tumescere  fecit, 

Londini  messes  orphana  turba  tulit.” 

Considering  the  great  length  of  his  reign  over  the  Grammar 
School,  the  references  to  Waddington  in  the  records  are  very 
few.  He  asks  for  “ bokes  for  the  children,”  as  Catechist,  and 
it  is  arranged  that  “children  vnder  Mr  Wadingtons  pte,” 
shall  write  out  the  Sunday  and  Paul’s  Cross  sermons.  And 
once  he  got  into  serious  trouble  with  the  Court.  One  of  his 
pupils,  Roger  Smith  (or  Smyth),  who  had  been  sent  to  the 
University  of  Cambridge  by  the  Haberdashers’  Company  in 
1578,  and  whose  name  appears  in  Dr.  Venn’s  list  of  Caians, 
was  reported  in  1581  to  have  “ronne  awaie  from  Cambrydge 
synce  Christmas  last,”  and  to  have  been  at  the  Hospital  with 
Mr.  Waddington  “aboute  a monthe  or  v weeks  sithens,  who 
never  disclosed  the  same  to  the  gounors.”  There  were  also 
other  charges  against  him,  as,  for  instance,  that  he  “ did  verie 
uncharytablie  stryke  the  vsher  in  the  skole,”  with  the  result 
that  he  at  once  received  notice  “ to  dept  oute  of  his  offyce, 
and  to  geve  place  to  some  other  ther  to  be  placid.”  How- 
ever, both  his  troubles  blew  over  within  a few  months. 
“Touchinge  the  contrauersie  wch  hathe  long  tyme  conty- 
neued  ” between  master  and  usher,  both  the  parties  “ in 
psence  of  this  coorte  haue  ben  verie  earnystlie  moved  vnto 
quietnes  and  friendlye  loue  vnfained,  as  becometh  one 
chrystyan  to  another,”  they  have  each  “forgeven  the  other, 
and  for  testimonie  thereof  they  haue  closed  either  of  their 
hande  in  other,  very  frendly.”  As  for  Roger  Smith,  he  re- 
turned dutifully  to  Cambridge,  where  three  years  later  he 
proved  his  earnestness  by  a representation  that  he  was 
“wantynge  relef  and  chefely  to  by  nedeful  Boks  for  his 
studie.”  It  may  be  noted  that,  though  he  was  preferred  to 
the  University  by  the  Haberdashers’  Company,  the  Governors 
considered  that  they  had  a right  to  control  his  attendance  at 
Cambridge,  and  it  may  be  taken  for  certain  that  they  gave 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


69 


him  more  substantial  support  than  “ Boks  for  his  studie.” 
Yet  he  is  described  in  the  Caius  list  as  educated  at  Black- 
friars  School  under  Mr.  Waddington. 

The  latter,  who  went  blind  in  1594,  and  was  thenceforth 
practically  incapacitated,  resigned  in  1612,  and  was  succeeded 
as  Upper  Grammar  Master  by  Thomas  Haynes,  or  Hayne, 
who  had  taken  the  place  of  the  usher  whom  Waddington  did 
“verie  uncharytablie  strike.”  Anthony  a Wood  ( Ath . Oxon., 
vol.  ii.  p.  42)  says  that  he  was  born  at  Thurciston,  near 
Leicester,  and  entered  at  Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  where  “ he 
obtained  great  knowledge  in  Philosophy,  and  the  more  for 
this  reason,  that  he  was  taken  off  from  various  Recreations 
and  Rambles  by  a lameness  in  his  Legs  from  his  Cradle.” 
He  was  “ a noted  Critick,  and  excellent  Linguist  and  a solid 
Divine,  beloved  of  Learned  men,  and  particularly  respected 
by  Selden.”  His  published  works,  of  which  Anthony  a Wood 
gives  a list,  were  apparently  written  after  he  left  the  Hospital, 
but  he  was  buried  in  Christ  Church  in  1645,  if  the  same 
authority  can  be  trusted.  The  parish  registers  of  the  period 
did  not  survive  the  Great  Fire.  To  judge  by  the  Hospital’s 
records,  Hayne’s  regime  was  quite  uneventful.  Nothing  is 
stated  about  him  save  that  he  could  not  for  some  nine  years 
get  into  the  Upper  Grammar  Master’s  residence,  because 
Mrs.  Waddington  was  allowed  to  stay  on  there  till  her  death, 
and  that  he  received  in  1628  a reward  of  £ 6 13^.  4 d.  in 
respect  of  his  “ painfull  service,”  and  “ by  reason  of  divers 
weaknesses  which  hee  ffindeth  to  growe  upon  him  through 
his  constant  paine  therin.” 

On  his  resignation  in  1630,  there  were  two  candidates  for 
the  post,  and  the  Court  Book  gives  an  interesting  view  of  an 
election  to  a Head  Mastership,  so  to  call  it  for  the  moment. 
The  two  candidates  were  “Mr  John  Vicars,  Usher  of  the  said 
schoole  for  19  or  20  yeares  past,”  and  “one  Mr  Thomas 
Walters,  Mr  of  Arts  of  Magdalen  Colledge  in  Oxford,”  and 
the  proceedings  were  as  follows  : — 

T^e*re  peticons  being  both  read  the  Court  intreated 
ru  uitor  ^r'ce  [probably  Sampson  Price,  Vicar  of  Christ 
Church],  Mr  Thomas  Salisbury,  and  Mr  Launce,  Divines,  to 


70  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


give  them  assistance  in  the  choice  of  a sufficient  schoolmaster 
to  the  place.  But  Mr  Doctor  Price  refused  upon  some 
Remonstrances  made  openly  in  the  Court  [They  may  have  dis- 
trusted this  “ Mawl  of  Hereticks.”]  and  desired  to  bee  spared 
in  that  Act.  Then  the  other  two  Divines  . . . were  intreated 
to  that  purpose,  and  to  withdrawe  apart  into  the  Inner  Roome, 
there  to  make  some  proofe  of  the  said  Mr  Vicars  his  suffi- 
ciency for  the  discharge  of  the  said  place.  Whereupon  the 
said  two  Divines  (according  to  the  trust  to  them  committed) 
went  and  made  knowne  to  Mr  Vicars  the  mynde  of  the 
Court  and  desired  him  (as  a Resolved  way  to  approue  him- 
selfe  and  satisfie  the  Governors)  to  read  unto  or  examine 
in  theire  presence  some  of  the  best  schollars  under  Mr  Haynes 
in  those  Greeke  and  Latine  Authors  wherein  they  learne,  that 
(perceiving  his  abillitie  therein)  they  might  be  able  to  testifie 
theire  knowledge  in  his  behalfe.  Who  made  answeare  unto 
them  that  there  had  never  beene  any  such  course  formerly 
taken  with  other  schoolmasters  who  have  been  chosen  the 
place  (sic).  And  therefore  since  this  tryall  was  without 
example  (If  the  Governors  pleased  not  to  bee  satisfied  with 
theire  long  experience  of  his  service  in  his  place,  the  testimony 
of  his  fifriends  and  his  owne  declarations  in  his  Peticon)  hee 
would  not  begin  any  such  President  in  his  owne  perticuler. 
Wherupon  the  said  two  divines  made  a returne  of  Mr  Vicars 
his  final  answeare  to  the  Court.  Then  the  Court  (the  better 
to  avoid  all  partialitie  in  their  eleccon)  intreated  the  said  two 
divines  to  propound  the  same  course  of  tryall  to  Mr  Walters, 
(notwithstanding  they  had  many  reall  proofes  in  himselfe  of 
his  sufficiency,  besides  the  testimony  of  most  of  the  knowne 
Schoolmasters  in  the  Schooles  in  and  about  this  Cittie). 
Who  uppon  receipt  of  the  Motion  did  most  willingly  accept 
therof  and  (in  theire  presence  and  hearing)  did  appose  * the 
choicest  Schollars  under  Mr  Haynes  . . . like  a compleate 
Grammar  and  Learned  School-Master  in  most  exact  and 
schollerlike  Manner.’ 

The  result  of  course  was  the  election  of  Walters,  who 
thereafter  lapses  into  obscurity  till  his  death  twenty-one  years 
later,  when  at  his  desire  he  was  buried  “ in  the  cloyster  neere 
to  my  predecessour  Mr  Waddington.” 

But  poor  John  Vicars,  who  was  again  an  unsuccessful 
candidate  for  the  post  .when  Walters  died,  deserves  a passing 
mention.  Trollope  gives  him  a long  notice,  which  is  by  no 

* Cf.  “ Apposition  Day  ” at  St.  Paul’s  School. 


THE  COUNTING  HOUSE  DOOR 


FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  REV.  D.  F.  HEYWOOD 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


7i 


means  accurate,  and  which  need  not  be  detailed  here  in  what 
is  a history  of  Christ’s  Hospital  rather  than  a biography 
of  “ Old  Blues.”  His  entry  into  the  School  is  thus  recorded 
under  the  date  of  March  27th,  1589- 

‘ Whereas  uppon  good  fryday  last  ther  was  lefte  betwene 
the  Counting  howse  and  the  Grammer  Schole  a younge 
infant,  being  a man  childe  aboute  the  age  of  xii  monethes, 
the  same  childe  is  this  day  admitted  in  to  this  howse  and 
called  by  the  name  of  John  Grammer.’ 

He  was  put  to  nurse  to  "Agnis  Vicars,  n.  212”  (on  the 
Hospital’s  list  of  foster-mothers)  and  he  subsequently  took  her 
name.  His  finding  lends  a pathos  to  his  request  to  be  buried 
“in  the  cloister  nere  unto  the  grammer  school  dore.”  His 
unavailing  attempts  to  become  Upper  Grammar  Master  as  a 
reward  for  over  forty  years’  service  as  Usher  were  due  in  all 
likelihood  first  to  his  having  been  a foundling,  and  next  to 
his  virulent  Presbyterianism  and  his  sorry  rhymes  against 
the  Independents.  The  author  of  Hudibras  counts  him 
among  those  who  were  forced 

“in  spite 

Of  Nature  and  their  stars,  to  write.” 

But  here  it  may  be  acknowledged  that  in  what  he  wrote  he 
never  spoke  save  in  terms  of  affection  of  the  school  he  had 
served  so  long.  He  told  the  President  and  the  Governors  that 

“Your  Worships  favours,  from  my  Birth  still  found, 

Haue  me  in  all  my  best  Endeauours  bound  : 

And  since  I owe  more  than  I know  to  pay, 

I rest  your  Worships  to  my  Dying-day.” 

Walters’  successor  in  1653  was  one  George  Perkins,  the 
first  Upper  Grammar  Master  chosen  from  among  those  who 
had  been  educated  in  the  school.  If  I record  with  satisfaction 
the  fact  of  his  being  the  son  of  a tradesman  in  the  parish 
of  Christ  Church,  Newgate  Street,  I am  equally  bound  to 
confess  that  he  lost  his  post  at  the  Restoration,  as  “ not 
having  subscribed  according  to  the  late  Act  of  Parliament.” 

It  is  now  necessary  to  give  some  idea  of  the  status  of  these 
“ Head  Masters.”  To  speak  truly,  Christ’s  Hospital  never 


7 2 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


had  any  such  official  save  the  present  one,  and  he  was  not 
invested  with  powers  equal  to  the  name  till  the  new  scheme 
came  into  action  in  1891.  The  “Heads”  of  the  last  half- 
century  by  their  outstanding  ability  have  gradually  asserted 
their  position  as  Head,  but  in  fact  there  was  always  a power 
behind  them.  Two  hundred  years  ago  this  power  was  in 
front  and  in  fact  everywhere.  The  person  who  then  did  the 
work  of  the  Head  Master  was  called  “the  Upper  Grammar 
Master,”  and  his  authority  was  strictly  limited  to  the  boys 
under  his  immediate  instruction.  It  might  happen,  as  it  still 
does,  that  he  found  his  boys  after  sufficient  trial  to  be  un- 
suited for  the  classical  side,  but  it  was  not  in  his  power 
to  transfer  them  to  the  “Writing  School”  or  commercial 
side.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  frequent  entries  in  the 
minutes  of  his  watch-dog,  the  “ Committee  of  Schooles,”  to 
this  effect : “ Mr  Mountfort,  the  upper  grarhar  master,  pre- 
sented the  names  of  some  children  in  his  Schoole  to  be 
removed  into  the  Writing  Schoole  for  altogether,  they  being 
(as  he  alleadges)  either  superannuated,  diseased,  or  dull.” 
But  so  elementary  a question  of  management  he  could  not 
settle  on  his  own  authority.  Nor  did  experience  or  length 
of  service  in  any  way  mitigate  this  bondage  to  a set  of 
excellent  but  perhaps  hardly  scholarly  City  gentlemen,  even 
though  Samuel  Mountfort,  who  had  been  elected  in  1682, 
had  been  commended  to  the  Governors  by  men  like  Benjamin 
Whichcote  and  Gilbert  Burnet.  His  very  limited  monarchy 
lasted  till  1719. 

Four  years  before  his  appointment  there  had  been  an 
inquiry,  in  which  the  ubiquitous  Pepys  took  part,  into  the 
state  of  the  Grammar  School,  and  the  result  implies  that 
Mountfort  would  have  no  easy  task.  The  inquirers  found 
“about  seventy  house  children  therein  and  as  many  pay 
children  under  the  care  of  the  Master  and  the  Usher.”  The 
house  children  have  been  neglected  in  favour  of  the  “Town 
or  pay  scholars,”  and  therefore  " that  the  House  children  may 
be  better  instructed  for  the  future,  they  present  it  as  their 
opinion  that  noe  Town  boy  be  taught  in  the  said  Graihar 
Schoole.”  Then  they  proceeded  to  legislate  about  numbers. 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  73 

« Having  considered  the  Children  that  are  to  be  taught  in  the 
Grafnar  Schoole  in  order  for  the  Mathematicall  Schoole  and 
some  few  other  children  for  the  University  with  some  few 
other  for  the  eminent  services, — they  present  it  as  their 
opinion  that  sixty  boyes  will  be  a sufficient  number  to  be 
bredd  up  in  the  Graihar  Schoole,  unless  the  Governors  shall 
at  any  time  hereafter  think  fitt  to  augment  that  number.’ 

Two  things  in  this  report  deserve  notice.  The  regulation 
as  to  the  teaching  of  outside  scholars  has  been  already 
mentioned.  For  the  moment  the  master  in  occupation  found 
the  regulation  “not  good  enough,”  for  within  a week  of  its 
adoption  Mr.  Brice,  the  Usher,  reported  to  the  President  (Sep- 
tember 24th,  1678)  that  “Mr  Helmes,*  the  master  of  the  said 
Graihar  Schole  . . . would  remove  from  this  Hospitall  forth- 
with and  would  take  the  Town  Children  with  him.”  He 
evidently  knew  which  part  of  his  work  paid  him  best.  But 
the  other  feature  of  the  new  rule  was  more  momentous,  and 
probably,  if  poor  Mountfort  could  only  have  expressed  his 
feelings  about  it,  much  more  galling.  In  modern  times  it 
is  the  boast  of  the  Hospital  staff  that  the  old  learning  and 
the  new  “lie  down  together,”  that  Judah  does  not  vex 
Ephraim  and  Ephraim  does  not  envy  Judah;  but  in 
Mountfort’s  time  the  new  sciences  were  very,  very  new, 
much  as  “ Dr.  Isa,ac  Newton  ” was  doing  to  make  them 
familiar.  And  when  Mountfort  came  to  take  up  his  duties, 
he  found  that  they  consisted  partially  in  preparing  “ some 
few”  boys  for  the  University,  but  much  more  (indeed  he  gave 
an  undertaking  to  do  so)  in  providing  a sufficient  supply  of 
Latin-taught  pupils  for  the  King’s  new  foundation.  He 
might  see  his  best  material  filched  from  him  to  pass  under 
his  colleague,  the  Mathematical  master,  without  it  being  in 
his  power  to  protest.  To  take  a case  in  point.  In  October, 
1689,  when  he  had  had  plenty  of  time  to  look  about  him,  he 
made  some  suggestions  to  the  Schools  Committee  about  the 
age  at  which  boys  should  pass  from  him  to  the  “ Mathemat,” 
and  had  small  thanks  for  his  pains.  He  “ declared  his 
opinion  in  writing  concerning  this  matter,  which  being  only 
in  shorthand,  he  was  desired  to  transcribe  the  same  in  as 

* Shadrach  Iielmes  : floruit  1662-78. 


74  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


few  words  as  possible,  and  to  mention  only  bare  matter  of 
fact,  and  when  he  has  soe  done  to  give  it  to  Mr  Treasurer.” 
The  question  was  really  of  considerable  moment  from  a 
Head  Master’s  point  of  view,  but  four  years  later  (June  21st, 
1693)  he  was  still  mildly  applying  to  the  Committee  for  a 
decision,  and  was  referred  to  the  Court,  from  whom  he 
appears  to  have  got  no  more  attention. 

Besides  his  actual  teaching,  he  seems  to  have  shared  with 
his  two  colleagues  of  the  Writing  and  Mathematical  schools 
the  responsibilities  of  discipline  out  of  school  hours.  For 
instance,  it  was  laid  down  in  his  instructions  that  he  must 
“ be  present  every  Lord’s  day  both  forenoone  and  after- 
noone  at  Church  to  observe  their  behaviour  dureing  prayer 
and  sermon  time  ” ; but  this,  he  protested,  was  too  much 
for  his  patience,  and  the  Governors  agreed  to  substitute 
“ frequently  ” for  every  Sunday  ; as  “ Church  ” was  at  that 
time  being  held  in  the  Tabernacle,  a draughty  erection  in 
the  middle  of  Christ  Church,  before  it  was  rebuilt  after  the 
Fire,  there  was  some  excuse  for  Mountfort’s  unwillingness 
to  be  regular,  and  his  desire  to  be  merely  “ frequent.” 
Again,  he  was  liable  to  be  present  in  his  turn  during  the 
children’s  meals  in  the  hall,  though  this  was  more  or  less 
dependent  upon  the  general  state  of  discipline.  For  example, 
three  years  before  Mountfort’s  appointment  (Dec.  19th,  1679) 
there  was  an  order  of  Committee  to  the  following  effect : 
“By  reason  of  the  sicknesse  and  weaknesse  of  Mr  Wright 
the  Steward,  the  Matron,  and  the  negligence  of  several  of  the 
nurses,  the  Children  are  now  under  little  or  noe  Government 
in  the  Hall  or  Wards  out  of  Schoole  hours,  which  hath  (stc) 
and  dayly  will  prove  very  prejuditiall,”  the  Committee  “doe 
order  that  the  foure  Schoole  Masters,  viz1  Mr  Mansfield,*  Mr 
Perkins,  Mr  Smith  and  Mr  Sampson  shall  forthwith  in  turn 
dayly  be  with  the  Children  at  Breakfast,  Dinner,  and  Supper, 
and  in  their  Wards  at  night,  to  observe  that  the  Children  doe 
behave  themselves  orderly  and  according  to  such  instruction 
as  they  give  or  should  give  them,  at  Schoole  and  Catechisme. 

The  mention  of  “Catechisme”  suggests  a description  of 
* Mountfort’s  predecessor  : floruit  1678-82. 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


75 


the  one  office  which  gave  a certain  precedence  to  the  Upper  * 
Grammar  Master.  He  was  generally  appointed  Catechist  at 
a small  additional  salary.  This  brought  him  into  contact 
with  the  whole  school,  which  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  the  Church  Catechism  under  his  instruction.  And 
it  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  show  how  from  the  beginning 
and  on  till  the  great  change  of  1891  Christ’s  Hospital  set 
herself  to  impart  to  all  her  sons  and  daughters  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church  of  England  “ and  none  other.” 

We  start  with  the  second  Grammar  Master,  Waddington, 
who  in  1570  is  found  making  a request  for  “ bokes  for  the 
Children,  which  is  the  Catechisme  Late  set  forthe  by  Mr 
Nowell,  Deane  of  Powlles,”  and  we  find  the  books  provided 
“out  of  hande.”  Again  in  1579  there  is  an  enactment  that 
“ all  the  officers  of  this  Hospitall  shall  every  Sondaie  be 
present  in  the  hall  of  this  house  at  the  Catechisme  tyme.” 
Apparently,  the  officers  took  the  injunction  to  “be  present” 
very  literally,  for  in  1581  it  is  added  that  they  are  “there  to 
remaine  untyll  thexamynacon  be  done  ” ; moreover,  if  any 
officer  absents  himself  “ without  lycence  or  vppon  a reason- 
able excuse  to  be  accepted  by  Mr  Tresurar,”  he  “shall  pay 
to  the  poores  Box  iiiid.”  Nor  were  the  Governors  themselves 
exempt,  at  any  rate  in  these  early  days.  “ Euery  Sonday  in 
the  yeare,”  says  a minute  of  September  23rd,  1581,  two  of  the 
Governors  are  to  be  at  the  catechizing,  according  to  a rota 
consisting  of  members  of  the  City  Guilds,  “ that  is  to  saie  the 
fyrst  month  ii  mercers,  the  ii  two  grocers  and  so  throughe  the 
companies,  being  Governors,  as  they  stand  in  the  table.” 
And  there  is  a much  higher  penalty  for  “ shuffling.”  “Yf 
anye  in  this  appoyntment  beinge  dewly  warned  absent  them- 
selves (without  they  appoynte  one  other  in  their  place)  shall 
paie  to  the  poores  boxe  twelue  pence  without  redemptyon.” 
The  first  record  as  to  the  payment  for  this  difficult  task 
is  to  the  effect  that  John  Hales  who  was  appointed  in  1579 
should  have  “ a yearlie  stypend  of  vH  by  the  year  ” ; and  the> 
first  mention  of  the  place  of  meeting  shows  that  “ Catechize  ” 
was  held  in  “ the  louer  part  of  the  greate  churche,”  that  is 
to  say  in  the  nave  of  Christ  Church,  which  was  some  two 


7 6 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


hundred  feet  long  by  itself ; but  two  years  later  (September, 
1581),  the  books  speak  of  “the  Catechisme  in  the  grt  hall,” 
and  henceforth  the  Grammar  Master  took  his  catechetical 
exercise  within  the  walls  of  the  hospital.  Thus  in  1628, 
perhaps  because  they  had  begun  to  find  attendance  at 
Catechism  somewhat  of  a burden,  the  Governors  were 
warned  “ to  see  the  Children  Catechised  every  Sabboth  day 
in  the  Hall,”  and  Mr.  Vicars,  the  then  Catechist,  “ for  his 
greate  care  and  paines”  had  his  “sellery”  raised  about  the 
same  time  to  ten  pounds.  No  doubt  the  girls  of  the  Hospital 
were  included  in  this  instruction.  But  a good  lady,  “ Mrs 
Margaret  Wale,  Widdowe,”  took  it  into  her  head  in  1643 
to  leave  five  pounds  a year  “ for  some  honest  and  able  man  ” 
to  instruct  the  “ Maiden  Children  ” in  the  principles  of  re- 
ligion. For  this  office  there  were  two  Candidates,  Mr.  Vicars, 
the  ordinary  Catechist,  and  Mr.  Wickings,  the  Steward,  and 
on  a vote  “the  Maior  parte  of  hands”  were  held  up  for 
Mr.  Wickings.  But  Mr.  Vicars  decidedly  objected.  He  had 
been  instructing  the  girls  and  doing  it  “of  his  own  Voluntary 
Inclinacon,”  which  means  that  he  had  not  been  paid  for  it, 
nor  had  any  of  his  predecessors  ever  done  so.  Evidently 
the  Governors  felt  he  had  a grievance ; and  so  “ for  the 
Auoyding  of  further  difference  and  Controuersie,”  decided 
that  Mr.  Vicars  should  have  Widow  Wale’s  five  pounds  a 
year  for  catechising  the  girls.  The  money  was  well  earned 
if  he  carried  out  his  instructions ; for  he  was  to  teach  them 
“On  Thirsdayes  Satterdayes  and  Sundayes  Two  howers  in 
euery  of  the  said  dayes  by  a perfect  and  full  hower  glasse." 
Both  the  hour-glass  and  the  length  of  the  discourse  will 
serve  to  remind  us  that  in  1643  the  Puritan  was  already 
a power  in  the  land.  The  Restoration  reduced  the  “two 
howers”  to  one  on  each  of  the  same  three  days,  as  may 
be  seen  from  the  rules  to  which  Mountfort  put  his  signature 
on  appointment  in  1682.  The  modern  schoolboy  would  think 
it  a curious  Saturday  half-holiday,  out  of  which  an  hour  was 
taken  for  the  Church  Catechism. 

But  the  point  from  which  we  started  this  description  of  the 
Catechist  and  his  duties  was  the  position  and  prestige  of  the 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


77 


Upper  Grammar  Master.  He  had  this  vastly  important  part 
of  religious  instructor  assigned  to  him,  but  it  is  clear  that  it 
gave  him  no  pre-eminence,  still  less  a right  to  interfere  with 
his  colleagues*  To  take  a case  in  point.  In  December  1702 
there  was  considerable  tension  between  the  masters  because 
Mountfort  in  his  capacity  as  spiritual  pastor  took  to  sending 
for  boys  from  any  school  at  any  hours  “ to  give  them  correc- 
tion for  absenting  from  Catechize.”  The  other  masters 
appealed  to  the  Committee,  which  held  one  of  its  “large 
debates  on  this  matter  ” and  managed  to  arrange  a com- 
promise, which  put  the  poor  Upper  Grammar  Master  still 
more  “ in  his  right  place  ” than  he  was  before.  They  thought 
it  indeed  “ highly  reasonable  and  necessary  for  Mr  Mountfort 
to  send  for  any  boy  down  to  his  Schoole  in  schoole  houres 
upon  account  of  being  a Defaulter  or  absenter  from  Cate- 
chize” ; but  he  must  not  take  too  much  upon  him.  In  future 
he  must  arrange  to  send  for  his  runaways  during  the  first 
hour  of  school  (7  to  8 a.m.  in  summer,  and  8 to  9 a.m, 
in  winter),  “ and  at  noe  other  houres  or  time  whatsoever.”  He 
might  not  even  choose  the  text-books  for  his  Catechumens ; 
that  was  done  by  the  Committee  on  outside  advice;  for  “Noel,” 
as  the  books  call  the  old  dean,  was  at  last  displaced  in 
1685,  after  answering  the  purpose  for  over  a century,  and 
“for  several  reasons  moveing  this  Committee,  and  particularly 
by  the  advice  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London,  it  was  agreed 
Dr  ffords  and  Mr  Evans  exposition  upon  the  Church  Cate- 
chisme  shall  be  provided  for  the  Children  not  exceeding  100.” 
It  would  appear  that  in  1718,  when  Samuel  Mountfort 
was  in  his  dotage,  the  Governors  were  anxious  about  the 
progress  of  this  religious  teaching,  and  they  gave  an  order 
that  “for  the  readier  perfecting  the  Children  in  their  Catechise 
three  thousand  of  Catechisms  of  the  Ch : of  England  be 
printed  and  one  given  to  each  child  ” — an  act  which  must  be 
connected  with  the  circumstance  that  a few  days  earlier  the 
Committee  “ being  mett  divided  and  went  two  into  every 
ward  of  the  House  in  order  to  Catechise  the  Children.”  And 
they  were  always  ready  to  adopt  any  means  of  making  the 
The  office  of  Catechist  was,  in  fact,  sometimes  held  by  the  Usher. 


78  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Catechism  intelligible.  In  1754  “the  Rev.  Mr  James  Townley, 
upper  master  of  the  Grammar  School  and  Catechist  [1753- 
1760]  presented  ...  the  Church  Catechism  in  a Declaratory 
Form,  intended  to  assist  the  Children  in  understanding  the 
Questions  and  Answers  and  to  fix  the  whole  more  strongly 
upon  their  minds.”  But  this  merely  added  to  the  children’s 
burdens,  for  copies  were  at  once  sent  to  Hertford  and  Ware 
for  each  child  “to  learn  by  heart  as  well  as  the  Church 
Catechism.”  In  Trollope’s  time  Crossman’s  Introduction  to 
the  Christian  Religion  seems  to  have  acted  the  part  of  the 
“ Declaratory  Form.” 

One  other  point  in  the  Catechist  Grammar  Master’s  duties 
must  be  mentioned  here,  for  it  had  characterised  the  early 
days  and  remained  in  force  long  after  Mountfort’s  time.  As 
far  back  as  1581  there  is  an  order  of  the  Court  that  “euery 
sondaie  ii  of  the  best  Lerned  children  vnder  Mr  Wadingtons 
parte  shalbe  appoynted  ” to  “ pen  the  Sermonds  at  paulls 
crosse  euery  sondaie.”  This  writing  out  in  their  best  round 
hand  of  discourses  of  unmerciful  length  may  have  lapsed 
a little  in  the  course  of  years,  but  it  was  still  a tradition,  for, 
shortly  after  Mountfort’s  appointment,  there  is  a motion 
of  Committee  (January  13th,  1684),  “that  the  Catechizer’s 
charge  might  receive  some  alterations”  as  to  the  Sunday 
afternoon  hour,  and  there  is  this  special  note : “ the  same 
is  to  be  remembered,  that  hee  causes  some  of  the  Children  to 
give  an  accompt  what  they  remember  of  the  Sermonds 
preached  that  day.” 

Catechist  as  he  was,  and  directly  responsible  for  religious 
instruction,  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  was  apt  to  be  called 
to  account  if  he  allowed  his  zeal  for  his  sacred  office  to  be 
controlled  by  a little  common  sense.  It  was  his  traditional 
duty  to  “enter  every  morning  into  the  said  [grammar]  schoole 
at  7 of  the  clocke  and  there  presently  according  unto  lawdable 
custome  [to]  see  the  Children  in  the  said  schoole  devotely 
say  and  make  prayers  and  supplicacon  vnto  Almightie  God, 
As  well  in  the  morning  as  at  11  before  noone,  as  also 
at  one  of  the  clocke  in  the  afternoone,  and  at  any  other  time 
when  the  Schollers  shall  departe  from  Schoole.”  But  Bishop 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  79 

Compton,  as  every  “ Blue  ” knows,  composed  a set  of  prayers 
to  be  said  at  meal-times  and  in  the  evenings,  and  Mountfort 
felt  that  to  say  prayers  in  school  as  well  was  supererogatory. 
However,  the  Visitors  of  the  Schools  at  Michaelmas,  1695, 
thought  otherwise,  and  reported  him  to  the  Committee. 
Why,  they  asked,  did  he  omit  “ the  reading  of  a chapter  and 
prayers  to  be  said  in  the  Schoole”?  His  reply  was  that 
as  Compton’s  prayers  were  said  before  breakfast,  at  breakfast, 
dinner,  and  supper,  and  afterwards  in  their  wards,  “if  he 
used  them  to  it  in  the  Schoole,  it  might  rather  pall  their 
Devotion  then  otherwayes.”  And,  to  their  credit,  the  Com- 
mittee agreed  with  him. 

To  pass  from  his  religious  duties  to  his  administrative 
task  as  Upper  Grammar  Master,  it  is  equally  clear  that  the 
“ Head  ” was  head  only  in  name,  and  that  his  comings  and 
goings  were  carefully  watched  and  promptly  commented 
on.  Just  at  the  end  of  his  time  Mansfield  was  twice  in 
disgrace  for  fairly  trivial  offences.  In  February  1682  the 
watchful  Committee  suggested  that  he  should  be  brought 
before  the  Court,  because  he  “came  this  afternoon  at  one 
of  the  clock,  stayed  halfe  an  houre  and  soe  went  away 
and  came  noe  more  this  afternoone,”  with  the  result  that 
the  children  “ get  a habit  of  idlenesse  and  rudenesse.”  The 
previous  May  had  seen  another  dire  offence.  For  “ Mr 
Treasurer  acquainted  the  Committee  that  the  Grammar 
and  Writing  Schoole  Masters  did  yesterday  (May  2)  dismiss 
their  Schollars  on  pretence  that  May-Day  falling  on  Sunday 
last  they  might  give  the  Boyes  liberty  to  play  on  the  day 
following.  Upon  which  both  Mr  Mansfield  and  Mr  Smith 
acquainting  the  Committee  they  did  it  ignorantly,  and  that 
they  would  not  presume  to  doe  any  such  thing  for  the  time 
to  come,  the  Committee  rested  satisfied  therewith.”  On  the 
other  hand,  there  was  the  same  tight  hold  on  the  master 
in  respect  of  correction,  which  is  the  correlative  of  holidays, 
and  Mountfort  was  twice  called  to  book  for  severity,  once 
in  1695  and  again  in  1706.  The  1695  episode  is  worth 
recording  in  the  Committee’s  own  words.  “ There  was  a 
boy  in  the  house  whose  friends  made  complaint  of  Mr 


8o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

Mountfort’s  very  severe  usage  of  him,  giving  him  31  lashes 
one  day  and  31  the  next  day,”  and  the  allegation  had  to 
be  sifted  by  the  help  of  “ Mr  Green,  the  Surgeon.”  So 
they  adjourned  that  he  might  attend  and  report.  But  next 
week,  when  the  matter  came  up  again,  “ the  Surgeon  being 
called  was  not  to  be  found  ” ; probably,  though  the  Grammar 
Master  had  no  such  authority  as  would  make  him  a terror, 
the  Surgeon  preferred  “not  to  be  found.”  Anyhow  the 
Committee  made  their  report  without  him,  and  decided 
that  there  was  some  ground  for  the  complaint.  Still  they 
“do  not  find  that  he  hath  practised  the  same  lately,”  and 
content  themselves  with  saying  that  for  the  future  Mountfort 
is  “required  and  enjoyned  to  use  such  moderate  correction 
to  the  children,  as  may  reduce  them  to  good  behaviour, 
more  by  shame  then  smart,  which  both  as  a Master  and 
a Divine  is  left  to  his  discretion.” 

On  the  whole,  his  actual  teaching  work  at  the  beginning 
of  his  time  can  hardly  have  been  of  extreme  difficulty.  He 
had  just  seventy  boys  in  his  school,  and  they  were  fairly 
equally  distributed  into  four  classes,  of  which  the  highest 
was  called  the  fourth.  He  promised  on  appointment  to 
keep  a good  supply  of  boys  to  be  drafted  into  the  Royal 
Mathematical  School,  which  for  a long  while  was  his  most 
imperative  duty.  He  got  rid  by  degrees  of  those  whom  he 
found  it  impossible  to  teach.  For  the  rest,  he  had  to  be 
ready  twice  a year  to  receive  an  examiner  at  “the  Visitacion 
of  Schooles,”  and  occasionally  to  bring  up  a boy  or  two  to 
the  Committee  as  ready  for  the  University.  We  can  now 
see  with  what  success  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  answered 
these  two  requirements. 

The  Visitation  of  the  Schools  took  place  with  the  greatest 
regularity  at  Easter  and  about  the  third  week  in  September. 
The  examiners  were  appointed  at  a Committee  a few  days 
previously  to  the  Visitation ; the  same  man  examined  year 
after  year,  and  his  report  was  given  in  a day  or  two  after 
his  examination  or  even  on  the  very  day  itself.  Thus  for 
some  twelve  years  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  examiner  is  Dr.  John  Williams;  for  the  first  twenty 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  81 

years  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  reports  are  in  the  un- 
distinguished name  of  “ Thos.  Cooke.”  The  system  obviously 
tended  to  formality,  and  the  examiner  rarely  wrote  more 
than  three  or  four  lines,  to  the  effect  that  he  had  “ this 
day”  examined  the  boys  of  the  Grammar  School  and  found 
them  moderately  well  acquainted  with  “ the  Several  Authors  ” 
appointed  for  their  study.  Occasionally,  the  beggarly 
elements  of  such  a statement  are  supplemented  by  a detail 
or  two.  One,  which  occurs  frequently  both  in  Williams’ 
reports  and  in  Cooke’s,  settles  a question  which  is  still 
of  interest.  “I  find,”  says  Dr.  Williams  in  1690,  “the  lads 
of  the  fourth  classis  very  well  instructed  in  Tully’s  Epistles 
and  Erasmus  Colloqiyes.”  “ In  particular,”  Cooke  reports 
in  17 1 1,  “the  upper  part  of  the  fourth  class  gave  me  a good 
account  of  Erasmus  and  Tully’s  Epistles.”  Presently  Cooke 
adds  to  our  knowledge  of  the  books  studied  by  mentioning 
with  approval  the  work  of  “ the  Classes  which  read  Corderius 
and  Cato,”  but  he  says,  “ I miss  a class  between  Cato  and 
the  Vocabulary,  which  used  to  be  in  the  School  ” (September 
1717).  At  another  time  (September  1715)  he  misses  two 
classes  which  used  to  be  in  the  School,  “ the  one  whereof  used 
to  read  Cato,  the  other  a book  called  Sententiae  Pueriles.” 
Besides  all  these  he  mentions  the  Greek  Classes.  We  have 
thus  got  certain  boys  at  the  top,  who  learn  Greek,  and 
are,  no  doubt,  the  cream  of  the  Fourth  Class.  That  Class 
reads  year  after  year  the  Colloquies  of  Erasmus  and  Cicero’s 
Letters — a richly  deserved  compliment  to  Erasmus.  Then 
there  is  a Corderius  Class,  a Cato  Class,  and  a Class  called 
the  Vocabulary.  All  this  helps  to  solve  the  question  why 
two  hundred  years  later  there  should  still  be  Classes  in 
Newgate  Street  called  “ Erasmus,”  either  “ Great  ” or 
“Little,”  either  “A”  or  “ B.”  It  has  sometimes  been  urged 
that  these  boys  gained  the  name  “ Erasmus  ” because  they 
learned  Greek  and  because  the  Dutchman  did  so  much  for 
the  study  of  that  language  in  England.  But  from  the 
examiners’  reports  it  is  clear  that  the  Greek  pupils  were  a 
very  small  minority  of  the  boys  who  read  Erasmus.  Again, 
the  examiners  drop  naturally  into  the  Christ’s  Hospital 

G 


82  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


custom  of  calling  the  Classes  by  the  books  they  read  century 
after  century,  till  the  masters  must  have  been  heartily  sick 
of  them.  The  Fourth-class  read  Erasmus,  and  “Erasmus” 
became  its  name. 

It  is  only  fair  to  the  examiners  to  say  that  they  sometimes 
gave  expression  to  their  dissatisfaction.  “ I did  not  find  the 
boys  of  the  inferiour  classes,”  Cooke  complains,  “to  be  so 
ready  ” as  usual ; or,  again,  he  makes  an  exception  to  his 
praises  in  the  case  of  the  Corderius  boys,  “most  of  which 
are  not  fit  to  be  continued  in  the  said  school.”  But  he  puts 
his  finger  on  a much  more  serious  flaw  in  Mountfort’s  work 
as  Grammar  Master,  when  he  mentions  the  poor  supply  of 
boys  qualified  for  the  highest  class.  It  may  have  been  the 
fault  of  the  Mathematical  School,  which  had  all  the  interest 
of  the  Governors  on  its  side  and  attracted  the  best  boys  to 
its  “ Orders  ” ; the  fact  remains  that  Mountfort  did  but  little 
to  push  boys  on  to  the  University.  This  appears  from  his 
own  admission  in  regard  to  his  early  years,  and  from  a com- 
plaint of  Cooke’s  later  on.  In  1695,  when  the  Writing 
School  was  rebuilt  at  the  cost  of  Sir  John  Moore,  there  arose 
a question  about  the  ceremony  to  be  observed  at  the  formal 
opening,  and  Mr.  Mountfort  was  requested  to  prepare  and 
print  a Latin  Oration  to  be  delivered  by  one  of  the  boys. 
One  would  have  expected  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  to 
seize  the  chance  of  asserting  himself  on  an  occasion  which 
more  naturally  belonged  to  his  Writing  colleague.  But 
Mountfort  excused  himself,  as  he  was  “ but  in  a weakly 
condition.”  Besides  “ he  declared  that  he  is  of  opinion  that 
he  hath  never  a boy  in  his  schoole  that’s  capable  of  speaking 
it  now  that  Cobb  and  Frith  are  gone  to  the  University.” 
As  he  had  only  “lost”  six  pupils  to  the  University  in  the 
last  five  years,  this  was  hardly  a reason  which  did  him  credit ; 
and,  even  if  his  chief  scholars  were  few,  it  ought  to  have 
been  possible  to  prepare  some  lad  in  the  Erasmus  “ classis  ” 
for  the  reading  of  a speech  that  Mountfort  was  to  compose 
himself.  But  the  lack  of  qualified  material  in  the  Grammar 
School  appears  still  more  from  the  examiners’  reports. 
Cooke  says  in  1714,  “I  fear  in  little  time  the  upper  part  of 


THE  FOURTH  FORM  ROOM 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


83 


the  School  will  not  be  sufficiently  supplied,”  and  his  remarks 
of  four  years  later  speak  still  more  eloquently  of  a day  of 
small  things.  “ Only  one  defect,”  he  says,  “ I observe,  that 
the  Greek  classes  are  not  filled,  the  Second  whereof  wants 
a speedy  supply  of  one  boy,"  and  at  the  next  visitation,  six 
months  later,  he  finds  that  “ the  Greek  classes  are  defective, 
there  being  but  five  as  yet  instructed  in  that  language.”  Yet 
the  numbers  under  Mountfort  had  for  many  years  been 
much  above  his  original  seventy  ; for  the  Visitors,  already 
referred  to,  who  found  fault  with  him  in  1695,  made  it  their 
chief  complaint  that  he  had  “ broke  the  method  of  learning 
without  any  order  of  the  Court  ” ; and  he  replied  that  he  had 
now  one  hundred  and  twenty  boys  in  the  Grammar  School, 
and  had  made  certain  rearrangements  for  their  advantage ; 
besides,  he  added,  as  if  that  would  settle  everything,  he  had 
the  approval  of  “ Esq.  Pepys  ” for  what  he  did,  and  so  he 
received  the  Committee’s  absolution. 

Mr.  Cooke’s  remark  about  the  depletion  of  the  highest  class 
in  the  Grammar  School  describes  the  problem  which  had  to  be 
considered  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  minutes,  it  is  of  interest  to  notice,  show  that  the  familiar 
title  of  Grecian,  though  not  mentioned  totidem  litteris,  was 
already  beginning  to  take  shape.  The  top  class  is  referred 
to  as  “ those  who  read  Greek,”  “ the  Greek  Form,”  “ the  Greek 
Class,”  and  even  as  “the  Greek  boys,”  from  which  it  is  no 
great  leap  to  “ Grecians,”  whilst  those  below  begin  to  be 
definitely  called  “the  Erasmus  Class."  But  this  period 
(1700-25)  had  other  difficulties  than  nomenclature.  The 
highest  class,  as  already  stated,  was  frequently  short  of  its 
proper  complement,  a trouble  which  was  to  appear  again  in 
Boyer’s  time,  and  yet  there  was  now  a tendency  to  cut  its 
numbers  down.  The  demands  of  “the  University”  (no 
doubt  Cambridge  is  meant)  for  a knowledge  of  Mathematics 
were  causing  trouble  to  the  pupils  of  the  Grammar  School. 
And,  worst  of  all,  Christ’s  Hospital  of  two  centuries  ago  was 
in  the  throes  of  the  so-called  “ Classical  versus  Modern  ” 
controversy.  It  will  be  well  to  give  the  evidence  on  each 
point  in  inverse  order. 


84  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


(i.)  It  was  noted  in  March  1713  that  “severall  children  not 
designed  for  the  University  are  continued  in  the  Gramar 
School  till  ffourteen  & ffifteen  years  of  age  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  such  children.”  For  the  moment  the  Committee 
contented  themselves  with  deciding  that  twelve  and  a half 
years  should  be  the  limit,  and  that  such  boys  should  then 
be  sent  to  the  Writing  School,  adding  (in  their  wonted 
absence  of  ceremony  with  the  Grammar  Master)  that  he 
“ have  notice  of  this  order  and  the  same  to  be  set  up  in 
his  School  and  to  be  observed.”  A few  weeks  later  the  matter 
came  up  again.  These  boys,  it  was  explained,  were  “ de- 
prived of  the  opportunity  of  instructing  themselves  in  Writing 
and  Arithmetic,  the  more  imediate  and  necessary  qualifica- 
tions for  their  preferment  in  the  world,”  and  the  following 
scheme  was  approved.  No  boy  above  the  age  of  nine  was 
to  be  taken  into  “ Mr  Cobb’s  School  ” (i.e.  the  under  grammar 
class),  and  at  the  end  of  six  months  Mr.  Cobb  was  “ to  give 
an  account  whether  the  boys  put  under  him  are  fit  to  be 
continued  or  rejected.”  Being  “ continued  ” of  course  meant 
that  they  would  pass  under  the  hands  of  Mountfort,  and  the 
scheme  gave  orders  that  at  the  end  of  three  months  Mountfort 
“ be  obliged  to  give  the  like  account  of  each  boy’s  capacity.” 
Their  desire,  obviously,  was  to  prevent  boys  from  “ wasting 
time  over  the  Classics,”  when  they  might  be  preparing  for 
commercial  life. 

(ii.)  This  is  the  time  when  the  Hospital  began  to  see  the 
need  of  a special  course  of  instruction  for  its  Grecians  in 
higher  mathematics.  The  commissioners  of  1837  noted  that 
the  Travers  and  other  gifts  to  the  Mathematical  School  had 
“ of  late  years  ” been  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  upper  grammar 
classes,  but  the  essence  of  this  arrangement  can  be  found  a 
century  and  a quarter  earlier.  For  it  was  agreed  in  1712 
“ that  David  Currey  and  Thomas  Trigg  [who  afterwards  gave 
the  Hospital  over  £500  as  a token  of  gratitude]  the  two 
upper  boys  in  the  Gramar  School  do  for  two  or  three  hours 
in  the  day  goe  to  the  Mathematical  School,  viz1  one  to  the 
Royal  1 Mathematical  School  the  other  to  the  New  Mathe- 
matical! School  [Stone’s  Foundation]  to  be  instructed  in 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


85 


some  parts  of  the  Mathematicks  in  order  to  prepare  them 
for  the  University.”  Three  years  afterwards,  when  Edmund 
Tew,  who  enriched  the  Hospital  at  his  death  with  a legacy 
of  £4,000,  was  a “ Greek  boy,”  the  expedient  devised  for  a 
special  case  became  a perpetual  ordinance,  “ that  the  two 
upper  boys  in  the  Grammar  School  for  the  time  being  do  for 
the  future,  a year  and  a halfe  before  they  goe  to  the  Uni- 
versity, goe  two  Hour’s  in  a day,  viz1  from  seven  to  nine  in 
the  morning  into  the  Mathematical  School  in  order  to  fitt 
them  the  better  for  the  University.”  Considering  that  in  the 
period  already  mentioned  (1700-25)  only  four  exhibitioners 
went  to  Oxford  as  against  twenty-five  to  Cambridge,  we 
are  probably  right  in  supposing  that  the  requirements  of  the 
latter  university,  whose  first  Tripos  list  was  to  come  out  two- 
and-twenty  years  later,  compelled  the  Governors  to  provide 
their  candidates  with  this  mathematical  preparation.  Yet 
the  School  scored  no  Tripos  honours  till  the  eleventh  list 
(1758),  when  Henry  Binfield  was  7th  Wrangler. 

(iii.)  But  the  chief  difficulty  was  to  keep  up  a proper  supply 
for  the  Upper  Grammar  School,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
make  sure  that  the  material  was  of  sufficiently  good  quality. 
The  Committee  of  March  1713,  whose  scheme  has  already 
been  referred  to,  decided  (though  it  is  almost  certain  that 
the  first  clause  was  not  insisted  on)  “that  one  boy  and  no 
more  be  sent  in  each  year  to  the  University,  that  ten  boys 
and  no  more  be  at  the  same  time  instructed  and  fitted  for 
the  University,”  and  that  they  be  taught  in  three  classes, 
“ two  wherof  to  be  in  the  uppermost  and  four  in  each  of  the 
other  two  classes.”  The  fourth  class  in  the  Grammar  School 
was  to  consist  “ of  fforty  boys  to  supply  the  Royall  Mathem1 
School  and  the  number  designed  for  the  University,”  Mount- 
fort  thus  having  fifty  altogether,  while  the  under  master  had 
sixty  in  three  classes  of  twenty,  so  as  to  fill  the  vacancies  in 
the  Upper  School.  This  proved  to  be  merely  a paper  scheme. 
In  the  following  November  Mountfort  came  to  the  Committee 
complaining  that  he  wanted  boys  for  his  school,  and  all  they 
could  do  was  to  order  “ that  Mr  East  School  Master  at 
Hertford  be  wrote  to  and  that  he  send  up  ten  boys  to  the 


86  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


House  (viz1)  Six  of  the  most  pregnant  and  four  of  the 
oldest  ” — the  latter  no  doubt  to  fill  up  the  remaining  places 
in  the  cart.  Again,  the  rule  about  one  boy  a year  for  the 
University  caused  immediate  difficulties,  for  Mountfort  had 
to  report  in  1714  that  his  two  upper  boys  were  over  nineteen, 
and  the  Committee  agreed  that  “they  must  be  sent  to  the 
University  upon  the  charge  of  the  House  or  be  otherwise 
disposed  of.”  They  were  both  sent,  and  one  of  them,  Thomas 
Grover,  became  a Fellow  of  Trinity  ; but  “ for  preventing  the 
like  inconvenience  in  the  future”  the  Committee  decided  to 
weed  out  the  Upper  Grammar  School  still  further.  The 
“ Greek  class  ” was  to  be  reduced  from  ten  to  six,  pre- 
sumably in  three  “partings”  of  two  each,  with  a corre- 
sponding reduction  in  the  lower  classes,  and  they  called  in 
their  perennial  examiner,  Mr.  Cooke,  to  pay  a special  visit 
and  “ make  his  Report  of  the  five  [afterwards  altered  to 
six]  best  Qualify’d  boys  both  in  respect  of  age  and  Learn- 
ing to  be  continued  for  the  University  that  soe  the  others 
may  be  imediately  removed  into  the  Writing  School  to  be 
Qualifyed  for  other  imployments.” 

Apparently,  although  the  master  was  clamouring  for  a 
supply  of  boys  and  the  Committee  were  reducing  the 
numbers,  the  Grammar  School  continued  its  useful  work. 
Exhibitioners  went  to  the  Universities  at  an  average  rate  of 
two  a year,  and  at  least  qualified  for  their  degree.  Mountfort 
was  succeeded  in  1719  by  Matthew  Audley,  a former  Grecian, 
who  found  himself  under  the  same  strict  control  as  his  pre- 
decessor, and  seems  to  have  needed  it.  He  was  ordered  that 
“ he  doe  for  the  future  apply  to  Sr  George  Merttins  Knt 
Treasurer  before  he  sends  for  any  Book  or  Books  for  the  use 
of  the  Grammar  School,  who  is  to  order  the  same  as  he  shall 
see  fitt,”  while  at  the  very  same  date  the  examiner  was  re- 
porting “that  the  Tully’s  Epistles  are  so  very  incorrectly 
Printed  that  they  are  not  fitt  to  be  used.”  Evidently  this 
matter  was  not  attended  to,  for  in  1725  Cooke  complained 
that  “the  Boys  of  the  Fourth  Class  who  for  30  years  past 
have  been  examined  in  Erasmus  and  Tully’s  Epistles  as  the 
Statutes  require  they  should  be  offered  themselves  to  be 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


87 


examined  in  Erasmus  only,  the  reason  whereof  I know  not.” 
But,  whatever  the  interference  from  the  Counting  House, 
Audley  was  clearly  very  unsatisfactory.  He  was  “ complained 
of”  in  1720  “touching  his  severity  in  the  correction  of  one  of 
his  boys”;  in  1722,  “for  Misbehaviour  to  Sir  George  Merttins 
Treasurer,”  when  he  was  “ exorted  to  a better  behaviour  for 
the  future”;  in  1724,  for  “Divers  Neglects  and  Eregularities 
in  his  conduct  and  Duty  to  the  Great  prejudice  and  ill  ex- 
ample of  the  Children”;  and  in  1725  for  another  “great  irregu- 
larity.” Probably,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Governors, 
nothing  in  Audley’s  life  became  him  like  the  leaving  of  it 
the  same  year,  when  death  saved  him  from  dismissal.  Peter 
Selby,  who  had  left  as  a Grecian  in  17 11,  and  had  just  been 
made  Under  Grammar  Master,  at  once  came  into  Audley’s 
room  and  put  things  on  a better  footing.  Cooke,  whose  many 
years  of  examination  were  nearly  over,  found  Selby’s  “ severall 
Greek  Classes  very  well  versed,”  and  Mordecai  Carey,  one  of 
Mountfort’s  pupils,  who  had  gone  up  to  Trinity  in  1705,  and 
subsequently  became  an  Irish  bishop,  reported  “ those  in 
Greek  to  be  extraordinary  perfect,  and  those  in  Latin  to  be 
very  well”  (1728);  and  again,  “ I find  the  upper  boys  perfect 
to  an  extraordinary  degree  not  only  in  Greek  and  Latine, 
but  in  Hebrew  also,” — the  first  mention,  as  far  as  I know,  of 
Semitic  studies  as  part  of  the  curriculum.  Both  Grecians 
and  Deputy-Grecians  were  reading  Hebrew,  when  the  Com- 
missioners of  1837  made  their  investigations,  but  the  subject 
has  long  since  dropped  out.  Peter  Selby’s  efforts  were 
directed  to  an  improvement  in  the  class-books.  Within  a 
year  of  his  election  he  “presented  a new  sett  of  Select 
Epistles  out  of  Tully  more  Plain  and  not  so  difficult  as  those 
in  use,  and  which  with  great  pains  he  collected  and  at 
his  own  Expence  Printed,  chiefly  for  the  use  of  the 
Grammar  School  in  this  Hospital,  and  requested  the  favour 
of  the  Committee  to  permitt  him  to  dedicate  the  same  to 
the  President  Treasurer  and  Governors.”  Perhaps  he  hoped 
for  something  more  tangible  as  well,  but  he  had  to  wait 
for  that  till  1728,  when  “in  a most  dutifull  manner  he  pre- 
sented his  book  intituled  a new  Praxis  for  the  more  easy 


88  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


initiation  of  Latin  Schollars  compiled  by  him  with  much 
Pains  and  Application.”  This  time  he  was  awarded  ten 
guineas  “as  an  encouragement  to  learning  and  industry,”  and 
the  general  absence  of  any  complaint  against  him  in  the 
minutes  is  more  eloquent  even  than  his  election  to  the  vicar- 
age of  Clavering  of  his  endeavour  to  do  his  duty  by  the 
Grammar  School. 

Nothing  more  definite  can  be  attested  of  his  three  succes- 
sors, Seawell  Heatherly,  James  Townely,  and  Peter  Whalley, 
of  whom  only  the  first  was  an  “ Old  Blue.”  But  the  last- 
named  should  be  saved  from  obscurity  by  the  fact  that 
for  the  last  nine  years  of  his  very  limited  monarchy  he  had 
the  Rev.  James  Boyer  as  his  colleague  in  the  Lower  Grammar 
School.  With  him — for  he  succeeded  Whalley  in  1776 — we 
come  to  the  only  Upper  Grammar  Master  of  Christ’s  Hospital 
who  is  known  to  fame,  though  even  he  is  excluded  from  the 
Dictionary  of  National  Biography.  Boyer  (or  Bowyer)  was 
born  in  1736,  the  son  of  a “Citizen  and  Cooper,”  and 
it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  both  the  family  and  the  School 
are  to-day  represented  in  the  person  of  Mr.  John  Boyer, 
the  venerable  clerk  of  the  Coopers’  Company.  “ J.  B.”  was 
admitted  to  the  Hospital  in  1744  from  the  parish  of  St. 
Botolph’s,  Aldgate,  his  Governor  being  Mr.  “ Micajah  Perry,” 
and  he  was  prepared  for  the  university  by  Seawell  Heatherly. 
Of  his  career  at  Oxford  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  entered 
at  Balliol ; but  he  must  have  had  some  attainments  to  hold 
his  own  with  the  man  who  succeeded  him  as  Under  Grammar 
Master.  For  Matthew  Feilde  had  won  the  Chancellor’s  Medal 
in  1772,  the  year  after  the  same  honour  had  fallen  to  the 
great  Law  of  Peterhouse,  who  became  Lord  Ellenborough, 
and  Feilde  was  a Fellow  of  Pembroke.  No  schoolmasters 
have  ever  been  more  charmingly  delineated  than  these 
two,  under  whose  sway,  as  Lamb  has  told  us,  “ the  Upper 
and  the  Lower  Grammar  Schools  were  held  in  the  same 
room,  and  an  imaginary  line  only  divided  their  bounds. 
Their  character  was  as  different  as  that  of  the  inhabitants 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  Pyrenees.”  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  quote  such  familiar  words  as  Lamb’s  playful  description 


89 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 

of  the  two.  He  must  ultimately  have  reached  the  superior 
side  of  the  “imaginary  line”  and  come  under  the  “heavy 
hand  ” of  “ J.  B.,”  but  he  writes  as  one  of  Feilde’s  pupils, 
all  “ careless  as  birds,”  taking  “ two  years  in  getting  through 
the  verbs  deponent,  and  another  two  in  forgetting  all  that 
we  had  learned  about  them.”  Meanwhile  Feilde  “ came 
among  us  now  and  then,  but  often  stayed  away  whole 
days  from  us ; and  when  he  came  it  made  no  difference 
to  us — he  had  his  private  room  to  retire  to,  the  short  time 
he  stayed,  to  be  out  of  the  sound  of  our  noise.”  With 
the  result  that  “ his  highest  form  seldom  proceeded  further 
than  two  or  three  of  the  introductory  fables  of  Phaedrus.” 
Lamb  adds,  quite  truly,  that  Boyer  could  not  interfere; 
Feilde  was  in  no  sense  “ under  ” the  Head  Grammar  Master, 
but  was  responsible  to  the  Committee,  who,  strangely  enough, 
had  a good  opinion  of  his  industry.  They  made  him  vicar 
of  Ugley  and  curate  of  Berden  in  1785,  permitting  him  to 
retain  his  mastership  and  to  neglect  his  benefices.  They 
did  for  him  what  I know  no  other  instance  of  their  doing 
— they  paid  the  cost  of  his  dilapidations  at  Ugley,  “ con- 
sidering that  the  said  Rev.  Matthew  Feilde  has  filled  a very 
laborious  office  in  this  Hospital  near  ten  years.” 

But  Feilde  had  greatness  thrust  upon  him  by  Elia’s  and 
Leigh  Hunt’s  descriptions.  Boyer  was  really  a successful 
master,  as  success  was  reckoned  in  those  times,  and  if  he  had 
been  responsible  for  discipline  out  of  school,  and  had  held 
anything  approaching  to  the  power  of  the  modern  Head 
Master,  the  minutes  would  hardly  contain  certain  references 
to  the  conduct  of  Grecians  whom  Lamb  has  made  famous, — 
references  which  can  well  be  left  in  their  present  obscurity. 
In  his  class-room  Boyer  was  obeyed  with  a holy  fear.  All 
our  three  essayists  agree  about  that.  Lamb  tells  of  his  “heavy 
hand”  and  his  rabidus  furor.  Leigh  Hunt’s  verdict  is  that 
“ he  was  indeed  a proper  tyrant,  passionate  and  capricious.” 
Coleridge  knew  Boyer  better  than  the  other  two,  and  has 
left  us  an  appreciation  of  him  which  Elia  acknowledges  to 
be  an  “ intelligible  and  ample  encomium.”  “ I enjoyed  the 
inestimable  advantage,”  Coleridge  says,  “ of  a very  sensible 


90  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

though  at  the  same  time  a very  severe  master.”  After  speak- 
ing of  his  classical  judgment,  he  goes  on  to  acknowledge 
Boyer’s  care  in  making  them  read  the  best  English  authors. 
“ I learned  from  him  that  poetry,  even  that  of  the  loftiest 
and  seemingly  that  of  the  wildest  odes,  had  a logic  of  its 
own,  as  severe  as  that  of  science.  ...  He  sent  us  to  the 
University  excellent  Latin  and  Greek  scholars,  and  tolerable 
Hebraists.”  True,  his  “ severities,  even  now,  not  seldom  furnish 
the  dreams,  by  which  the  blind  fancy  would  fain  interpret  to 
the  mind  the  painful  sensations  of  distempered  sleep,”  but 
for  Coleridge  there  was  no  denying  that  to  Christ’s  Hospital 
Boyer  during  his  whole  life  “ was  a dedicated  thing.”  A 
tribute  like  this  may  indeed  be  coloured  by  the  interest  which 
Boyer  took  in  our  “ Logician,  Metaphysician,  Bard,”  picking 
him  out  against  his  will  as  being  fit  for  a Grecianship,  and 
ultimately  suggesting — such  is  the  vanity  of  human  wishes — 
that  it  would  be  well  to  enter  the  boy  at  Jesus  College,  Cam- 
bridge, “ as  the  prospect  of  his  preferment  in  the  Church 
would  be  very  favourable  if  he  were  preferred  to  that 
College.” 

But  the  Hospital’s  records  tend  in  every  way  to  confirm 
the  justice  of  his  pupil’s  verdict.  For  instance,  Boyer  found 
himself  in  the  trouble  that  had  fallen,  as  we  have  seen,  on 
his  predecessor,  Samuel  Mountfort.  He  could  not  get  the 
requisite  supply  of  boys  for  his  school,  and  a letter  which 
he  wrote  to  the  Committee  in  October  1790,  while  Coleridge 
was  a “ Grecian,”  shows  his  difficulties  and  his  appreciation 
of  their  cause.  “It  is,”  he  said,  “an  indulgence  sometimes 
granted  by  the  Hospital  to  the  Boys  designed  by  their 
parents  for  the  profession  of  Physic  or  the  Law,  that  by 
a special  Order  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  keeps  them  in 
his  course  of  education  till  they  are  of  age  to  be  discharged 
from  the  House.  This  custom  is  now  introducing  at  Hert- 
ford to  the  material  prejudice  of  the  Upper  Grammar 
School.”  “ When  the  Under  School  was  established  at 
Hertford  upon  the  plan  which  has  always  subsisted  with 
the  Under  School  in  London,  viz. : That  the  best  taught 
Boys  in  it  should  supply  the  vacancies  in  the  Upper  Grammar 


THE  OLD  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  91 

School,  it  was  seen  that  the  benefit  of  thus  collecting  the 
Boys  of  the  finest  understandings  and  best  improvement 
into  one  point,  as  it  were,  would  be  very  great  from  the 
emulation  among  so  considerable  a number  under  one 
Master,  whose  whole  exertions  are  concentrated  in  the 
higher  parts  of  classical  learning.”  He  then  went  on  to 
complain  of  the  lack  of  recruits  for  his  school.  “ At  this 
time  when  I have  recently  received  the  supply  from  both 
Under  Schools,  I want  of  my  complement  eight  boys,  which 
is  more  than  the  sixth  part  of  my  appointment.”  Obviously, 
if  things  went  on  in  this  direction,  “the  Master  of  the  Upper 
School  cannot  expect  to  obtain  for  the  future  other  than 
Boys  of  the  second  rate.” 

The  system  to  which  Boyer  refers  of  giving  some  special 
attention  to  boys  intended  for  “ Physic  or  the  Law  ” is  a sign 
that  even  the  eighteenth  century  made  some  attempt  to  intro- 
duce a little  elasticity  into  the  objects  of  the  Grammar 
School.  It  may  perhaps  be  traced  as  far  back  as  1 7 1 7,  when 
it  was  noted  by  the  Committee  that  “ frequent  demands  are 
made  for  Children  out  of  this  House  for  supply  of  the 
Profession  of  the  Law  and  other  good  business,  and  notwith- 
standing the  Number  of  Children  now  in  this  House  there 
is  wanting  a supply  for  these  purposes,  the  reason  of  which 
is  imputed  to  the  ill-management  of  the  Grammar  School  ” 
[during  the  last  years  of  Samuel  Mountfort].  While  the 
result  of  their  special  investigations  into  the  matter  is  not  on 
record,  they  no  doubt  made  some  such  arrangement  as  Boyer 
inherited,  though  his  “ Physic  and  the  Law  ” pupils  had 
never,  he  now  told  them,  exceeded  five  or  six  at  a time. 
He  was  certainly  right  when  he  urged  that  the  system  should 
not  be  permitted  at  Hertford,  where  these  specialists  would 
“ unavoidably  engage  a very  large  portion  of  the  Master’s 
time,”  who  “ has  already  sufficient  to  engross  his  whole 
attention.”  The  Committee  saw  the  reasonableness  of 
“ J.  B.’s  ” plea  and  gave  immediate  orders  that  Hertford  boys 
“ reading  the  Books  in  common  use  with  the  Third  Class 
of  the  Upper  Grammar  School”  should  at  once  be  brought 
to  join  that  school,  and  that  “ the  boys  indulged  for  the 


92  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


future  in  a Grammar  education  till  quitting  the  Hospital  ” 
should  join  the  Upper  Grammar  School  at  the  age  of  eleven. 

Now  it  is  obvious  that  an  absurd  impasse  of  this  sort  could 
never  have  existed  if  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  had  been 
allowed  anything  like  the  requisite  discretion  and  authority. 
The  Committee  clearly  had  every  confidence  in  Boyer. 
When  he  resigned  in  1799,  and  perhaps  went  at  last  to  the 
valuable  rectory  of  Gainscolne,  to  which  the  Hospital  had 
appointed  him  six  years  before,  they  bestowed  upon 
him  an  unprecedented  gratuity  of  £500,  “having  borne 
in  mind  the  great  benefit  which  the  Hospital  have  de- 
rived from  his  attention  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.” 
But  it  only  needs  a glance  at  the  salaries  paid  to  the  chief 
educational  authority  and  to  other  functionaries  a century 
ago  to  see  that  the  former  was  looked  upon  generically  as 
a person  of  no  great  importance.  In  1784  he  had  headed 
the  list.  Then  the  Clerk  received  £180,  the  Receiver  £160, 
the  Apothecary  £130,  the  Steward  £150,  and  the  Master 
at  Hertford  £155,  while  Boyer’s  stipend  was  £ 200  i6j.  8d. 
In  his  last  year,  1799,  a considerable  change  has  already 
come  about  to  the  disadvantage  of  his  position.  The  Clerk’s 
salary  has  risen  to  £245,  the  Receiver’s  and  the  Apothecary’s 
to  ,£210,  and  the  Steward’s  and  the  Hertford  Master’s  to 
£200,  but  Boyer’s  remains  at  £200  i6j.  8d. ; he  is  better  off 
than  his  colleague  of  the  Junior  School  only  by  the  odd 
shillings  and  pence,  while  the  Counting  House  begins  to  look 
down  on  him  altogether.  In  1800,  soon  after  the  appoint- 
ment of  his  successor,  Dr.  Trollope,  salaries  were  raised  all 
round,  but  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  was  still  well  in  the 
rear.  The  Clerk  was  now  drawing  £330,  the  Receiver  £270, 
the  Apothecary  £250,  the  Steward  £260,  and  the  Hertford 
Master  £240,  but  Dr.  Trollope’s  advance  is  only  in  the  old 
proportion — to  £240  1 6s.  8 d.  Yet  here  was  a Chancellor’s 
Medallist  and  Members’  Prizeman,  whose  instruction  pro- 
duced Mitchell,  the  translator  of  Aristophanes,  Thomas 
Barnes,  the  editor  of  The  Times,  Scholefield,  the  Regius 
Professor  of  Greek  at  Cambridge,  and  John  Greenwood  and 
Edward  Rice,  whose  work  as  successive  Upper  Grammar 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


93 


Masters  after  him  carries  us  up  to  the  year  1853.  The 
Counting  House  officials  leave  him  altogether  behind  in 
respect  of  emolument,  and  he  cannot  even  catch  up  the 
steward  or  the  doctor.  It  is  indeed  sometimes  urged  that 
the  masters  could  better  themselves  by  means  of  private 
pupils’  fees.  Privileges  cut  down  are  generally  a sign  of  the 
presence  of  some  abuse,  and  it  may  be  that  Boyer  and  his 
contemporaries  had  extended  their  liberty  in  the  matter  of 
private  pupils  beyond  the  proper  bounds.  In  the  old  days 
when  the  Upper  Grammar  Masters  such  as  Shadrach  Helmes 
(1662-78),  who  took  the  place  of  one  George  Perkins,  “dis- 
enabled ” for  “ not  having  subscribed  the  Late  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment,’’ received  ^20  a year,  they  had  to  take  private  pupils 
or  starve.  And  the  Governors  were  quite  reasonable.  It 
was  put  to  the  vote  (December  1663)  “whether  the  Maister 
and  Usher  of  the  Gramer  Schoole  should  have  80  pay 
schollers  as  heretofore  or  not,  and  although  it  be  a great 
number,  the  Court  by  vote  at  present  continued  itt.”  But 
those  were  primitive  days,  in  which  it  was  necessary  for  the 
Court  to  enact  that  “ the  children  presume  not  ” to  come  into 
the  Master’s  presence  “ with  dirty  hands  &c.  to  the  disgrace 
of  the  Government  of  this  ffoundation.”  But  it  is  almost 
certain  that  in  Boyer’s  time  the  number  of  “ pay-schollers  ” 
had  undergone  a great  and  necessary  reduction.  Leigh  Hunt, 
who  clearly  had  no  love  for  “ J.  B.,”  comparing  him  with  the 
tyrannical  schoolmasters  “ described  with  such  masterly  and 
indignant  edification  by  my  friend  Charles  Dickens,”  says : 
“We  had  a few  boarders  at  the  School : boys  whose  parents 
were  too  rich  to  let  them  go  on  the  foundation  ” ; and  he 
proceeds  to  contrast  Boyer’s  “caresses”  of  these  lordlings 
with  his  “ spiteing  ” of  actual  “ Blues.”  The  reader  must 
reckon  with  Leigh  Hunt’s  obvious  prejudice.  We  are  on 
surer  ground  when  we  come  to  a resolution  of  March  6th, 
1799.  the  time  of  Boyer’s  resignation,  and  therefore  a con- 
venient season  for  revising  the  regulations.  This  new  order 
was  as  follows : “ That  the  two  Grammar  Masters,  the 
Mathematical  Master,  the  two  Writing  Masters  and  the 
Master  of  the  Reading  and  Writing  School  be  permitted 


94  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


to  have  Private  Scholars,  not  exceeding  six  each,  provided 
that  no  inconvenience  shall  arise  to  the  Hospital  from  this 
permission ; and  further  that  those  Scholars  do  mix  with  the 
Children  of  this  House,  receiving  their  instruction  with  them 
from  their  Masters,  according  to  an  ancient  practice  in  their 
respective  School  Rooms,  and  not  forming  a particular  or 
separate  class.”  The  ideal  before  the  Governors  was  thus 
practically  a “Colleger”  and  “Oppidan”  system,  and  it 
lasted  on  till  well  within  the  last  fifty  years. 

The  Grammar  School  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  went 
through  just  such  a development  as  might  be  expected. 
When  William  IV.’s  Commissioners  made  their  report  in  1837, 
they  found  the  Upper  Grammar  Mastership  just  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  Edward  Rice,  who  had  succeeded  John  Green- 
wood in  1836.  He  was  a man  of  ripe  scholarship  and  of  an 
untiring  industry  in  the  care  of  his  pupils,  which  tended  to 
shorten  a valuable  life.  The  late  Canon  Buckle  left  me  some 
interesting  notes  on  these  two  men  which  are  worth  record- 
ing. “ Greenwood,”  he  said,  “ was  a schoolmaster  of  the  old 
type.  He  wore  a broad-brimmed  hat,  gaiters,  and  shoe- 
buckles,  and  sustained  the  dignity  of  his  station  by  an  im- 
posing presence.  But,  though  a fine  Latin  scholar,  he  did 
not  trouble  much  about  teaching.  There  was  no  thought  of 
working  for  University  distinctions.  The  two  Grecians  whom 
he  sent  up  annually  to  receive  the  exhibitions  they  were  en- 
titled to  at  Pembroke  College,  Cambridge,  did  not  commonly 
do  more  than  go  through  their  course  respectably.  In  his 
time  we  took  life  easily.  But  a great  change  occurred  when 
he  passed  away  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Second  Master, 
Rice.  I was  then  Deputy  Grecian,  and  we  felt  at  once  the 
touch  of  a new  hand.  He  pushed  us  on  in  a variety  of  ways, 
greatly  enlarging  the  curriculum  both  of  our  books  and 
exercises,  and  we  began  to  think  seriously  about  University 
distinctions.  In  this  he  was  actively  seconded  by  the  new 
Mathematical  Master,  Mr.  Webster.”  It  may  be  well  to  add 
another  of  the  Canon’s  recollections  about  the  sermons  of 
these  two,  for  already  it  was  the  custom  for  the  school  in  the 
evening  in  Hall  to  hear  the  Head  Master  preach,  “ a function 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL 


95 


rather  more  to  our  liking  ” than  the  “ exceedingly  uninterest- 
ing” and  "extremely  uncomfortable”  services  at  Christ 
Church.  “Greenwood,”  he  says,  “was  a trifle  dry  and 
pompous,  but  he  was  intelligible  and  short.  Rice  was  a 
popular  preacher  at  the  Foundling  [a  mistake  for  “ Lecturer 
of  the  Philanthropic  Society”],  and  he  often  delighted  our 
immature  taste  with  the  rhetorical  orations  which  had 
charmed  a very  different  audience.”  The  reader  should 
refer  also  to  Professor  D’Arcy  Thompson’s  Day-Dreams  of 
a School- Master. 

Certainly  Rice  had  a reward  for  his  labours  in  the  success 
of  many  of  his  pupils.  Not  to  speak  of  the  quiet  but 
influential  career  of  Canon  Buckle,  he  prepared  Harper 
for  his  ultimate  headship  first  of  Sherborne  and  then  of 
Jesus  College,  Oxford ; Sir  Henry  Sumner  Maine  for  a 
career  of  stupendous  intellectual  activity  which  it  is  un- 
necessary to  particularise,  and  which  his  contemporaries  at 
the  school  little  anticipated,  for,  “ oddly  enough,”  Canon 
Buckle  told  me,  “ we  recognised  him  only  as  a poet  ” ; Dr. 
Haig-Brown  for  the  head-mastership  and  the  practical  re- 
creation of  Charterhouse  School ; Dr.  Searle  for  the  Master- 
ship of  Pembroke  College,  Cambridge;  James  Lempriere 
Hammond  for  a Trinity  Tutorship  and  for  valuable  official 
service  in  the  direction  of  secondary  education  ; the  Rev. 
G.  C.  Bell  for  the  headship  first  of  Christ’s  Hospital  itself, 
and  now  for  a quarter  of  a century  of  Marlborough  College ; 
and  D’Arcy  Thompson  for  a Greek  Professorship  at  Queen’s 
College,  Galway.  Both  the  school  and  the  man  can  claim 
their  meed  of  credit  for  having  led  to  such  influence  on  the 
education  of  the  United  Kingdom  as  is  implied  by  these 
names. 

The  Commissioners  of  1837  were  evidently  conscious  of 
the  efforts  Rice  was  making.  They  found  him  in  sole  charge 
of  eight  Grecians,  eighteen  Deputy  Grecians,  and  twenty- 
eight  “ Great  Erasmus.”  The  Little  Erasmus  had  recently 
been  relegated  to  the  Lower  School  to  lighten  the  Head 
Master’s  labours.  “ Mr.  Rice,”  said  the  Commissioners, 
“ considers  himself  able  to  teach  as  many  as  50  boys 


96  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


efficiently,  but  this  can  only  be  done  by  devoting  on  an 
average  four  hours  daily  of  his  time  not  spent  in  school 
to  the  correction  of  compositions.”  The  class-books  of  the 
Deputy  Grecians  and  Grecians,  as  then  in  use,  may  be  taken 
to  imply  a reasonably  high  standard.  The  former  read 
Pinnock’s  Catechism  of  Hebrew  Gra?nmar,'%iz  Greek  Testa- 
ment, Homer,  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Horace,  the  Georgies, 
and  Terence.  They  made  “Latin  and  English  verses  and 
themes.”  The  Grecians’  list  of  books  comprised  the  Psalter 
in  Hebrew  and  Ollivant’s  History  of  foseph,  there  being  “ a 
Simon’s  Hebrew  Lexicon  for  the  use  of  the  class.”  They 
read  Thucydides,  Herodotus,  Aischylus,  Sophocles,  Euripides, 
Aristophanes,  Demosthenes,  “and  Valpy’s  Greek  Testament.” 
“ Original  compositions  ” were  “ required  at  stated  intervals 
in  Latin,  Greek,  and  English  prose  and  verse” — the  latter 
being  no  doubt  a survival  from  the  days  when  Boyer  with  a 
“Pierian  spring?  Oh,  aye,  the  cloister  pump,  I suppose!” 
would  make  ruthless  emendations  in  Coleridge’s  youthful 
poems.  It  is  questionable  how  far  originality  was  fostered 
by  another  custom  mentioned  in  the  Commissioners’  Report. 
Besides  an  English  declamation  “ on  a controversial  subject,” 
they  found  that  “ the  Grecians  speak  a speech  either  in  Latin 
prose  or  English  poetry  once  a week,  which  forms  a prepara- 
tion for  certain  public  orations,  which  the  two  seniors  are 
called  upon  to  deliver  on  St.  Matthew’s  Day.  These 
orations  are  original  compositions  on  the  subject  of  the 
Royal  Hospitals,  the  one  being  in  Latin  and  the  other  in 
English.” 

But  the  Rice  regime  saw  the  beginning  of  a still  more 
important  change.  Up  to  1836  it  had  been  the  custom  to 
make  a selection  of  two  Deputy  Grecians  out  of  each  year, 
and  to  place  them  in  the  Grecians’  class  with  a practical 
guarantee  that  when  they  were  nineteen  years  of  age  they 
would  be  sent  up  to  Pembroke,  Cambridge,  or,  if  necessary, 
to  some  other  college,  with  a Hospital  exhibition,  one  other 
Deputy  Grecian  being  selected  every  seventh  year  to  enter 
under  similar  conditions  at  Oxford.  The  actual  arena  of 
intellectual  contest  at  Christ’s  Hospital  was  thus  the  Deputy 


THE  GRAMMAR  AND  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOLS 


♦ 


■■  . 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  9 7 

Grecians’  class ; and  when  once  admitted  to  the  mystic  circle 
of  Greciandom  a boy  was  fairly  safe  from  further  competition 
at  an  age  when  the  struggle  and  the  stress  would  be  of  in- 
estimable value  to  him.  Gradually  but  surely  the  custom 
arose  of  having  more  Grecians,  in  order  to  produce  rivalry. 
The  Universities  had  not  yet  introduced  their  present  system 
of  entrance  scholarships,  and  any  college  scholarships  won  by 
“ Blues  ” were  only  secured  after  they  had  been  a year  or 
more  in  residence.  But  the  development  of  University  com- 
petition was  met  at  the  Hospital  by  a better  organisation 
of  the  exhibition  funds  ; indeed,  from  1842  onwards  Rice 
was  able  to  send  up  four  Grecians  a year  to  Oxford  and 
Cambridge. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  follow  out  in  detail  the  careers 
of  his  successors.  As  it  has  been  elsewhere  explained,  the 
office  of  Upper  Grammar  Master  went  through  its  natural 
evolution  towards  a monarchy,  which  the  somewhat  forcible 
methods  of  Dr.  Jacob  (1853-68)  did  much  to  hasten.  A 
Head  Master  who  urges  in  the  pulpit  on  a state  occasion 
in  the  presence  of  all  his  pupils  that  the  intellectual  instruc- 
tion of  the  children  is  lamentably  below  the  general  require- 
ments of  the  age,  that  the  internal  arrangements  are  very 
defective,  and  that  the  religious  and  moral  training  is  almost 
entirely  neglected,  is  apt  to  be  considered  by  the  Governing 
Body  as  something  of  a mauvais  sujet,  especially  if  he  builds 
his  charges  on  the  foundation  of  a few  months’  knowledge 
of  the  facts.  But  looked  at  through  the  eyes  of  his  pupils 
Dr.  Jacob’s  character  and  abilities  bear  an  appearance  of  great 
attractiveness.  “ Indeed,”  says  his  old  pupil  who  for  the  last 
twenty-five  years  has  filled  his  office,  “there  was  that  about 
the  Doctor  which  could  not  fail  to  win  affection  and  respect. 
Dignified  in  manner,  courteous  to  all,  patient  and  forbearing 
under  constant  provocations,  judicious  and  discriminating  in 
dealing  with  divers  characters,  industrious  and  painstaking  to 
a degree,  methodical  and  punctual  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  he 
made  us  feel  the  influence  of  a strong  character,  a distinct 
personality.  His  merits  as  a scholar,  and  especially  as  a 
teacher,  are  beyond  dispute.  . . . Much  at  which  we  laboured 


98  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


and  laboured  in  vain  under  others,  while  it  was  but  an  instru- 
ment of  torture  in  their  hands,  in  his  became  rather  an 
instrument  of  music.”  The  two  Head  Masters  (the  Rev. 
G.  C.  Bell,  1868-76,  and  the  Rev.  Richard  Lee,  1876-1901), 
who  have  filled  the  three-and-thirty  years  which  separate  us 
from  Dr.  Jacob’s  resignation,  are  still  living ; and  it  is  difficult 
in  that  case  for  one  who  entered  the  School  under  the  former, 
and  grew  up  in  it  under  the  watchful  care  and  interest  of 
Mr.  Lee,  to  give  a just  estimate  of  what  the  Grammar  School 
owes  to  them.  Mr.  Lee’s  memorial  is  written  in  the  book  of 
the  chronicles  of  his  exhibitioners  as  recorded  by  Mr.  A.  W. 
Lockhart.  If  it  is  to  the  credit  of  the  generosity  of  the 
Governors  that  they  have  provided  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  “ Blues  ” with  exhibitions  during  the  twenty-five  years 
of  Mr.  Lee’s  reign,  it  is  not  less  to  his  credit  that  each  of  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  has  obtained  some  academical  dis- 
tinction in  open  competition  sufficient  to  qualify  him  to 
receive  the  Governors’  help.  What  other  assistance  they 
have  received  from  him  in  the  cultivation  of  methodical 
habits,  of  a determination  to  “ stick  at  it  ” till  the  foundations 
of  classical  knowledge  are  well  and  truly  laid,  they  will  be 
the  first  to  acknowledge  and  the  last  to  forget.  To  have  been 
“ in  to  Lee  ” for  a “ swinging  task  ” in  “ Farrar’s  Card  ” or  for 
a drilling  in  Greek  accents,  to  have  heard  him  worry  out  an 
allusion  in  an  ode  of  Horace,  or  lead  a trembling  flock  of 
Deputy  Grecians  into  the  not  too  digestible  pastures  of  a 
Thucydidean  speech,  and  not  least — for  the  Head  Master 
is  still  Catechist — to  hear  him  in  the  first  lesson  of  Monday 
morning  draw  out  the  subject-matter  of  a Pauline  Epistle — 
these  are  experiences  which  go  to  the  making  of  character  as 
well  as  the  training  of  intelligence.  The  writer  of  these 
sketches  of  the  School’s  career  would  be  doing  no  justice 
to  his  own  feelings  if  he  did  not  confess  that,  apart  from  the 
satisfaction  of  a personal  friendship,  he  blesses  the  fate  that 
took  him  to  “ Lee’s  class-room  ” and  kept  him  there  for  five 
years. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL 


“These  boys  wore  a badge  on  the  shoulder.” — Leigh  Hunt. 

“They  were  the  most  graceless  lump  in  the  whole  mass.” — Charles  Lamb. 


HE  general  appearance  of  “Blues”  is  so  familiar  to  the 


ordinary  citizen  that  there  is  no  need  to  remind  him 
of  the  white-metal  plate  which  distinguishes  some  of  our 
number.  If  the  citizen  is  asked  what  the  plate  means,  it 
may  be  confessed  that  the  accuracy  of  his  answer  is  mostly 
in  inverse  proportion  to  the  certainty  with  which  it  is  given. 
He  will  tell  you  that  the  plate-bearer  is  a monitor  or  a 
Hebraist  or  a mighty  athlete.  But  you  may  occasionally 
find  a well-informed  person  who  knows  that  the  boy  in 
question  is  a “ Mathemat.”  Still,  if  you  are  further  curious, 
and  assume  from  this  answer  that  the  white-metalled  youth 
is  a budding  “Wrangler,”  even  the  accuracy  of  the  well- 
informed  person  will  perhaps  break  down.  So  it  may  be 
well  at  this  point  to  explain  exactly  what  the  boy  is  and  why 
he  wears  that  plate  upon  his  shoulder. 

The  fighting  spirit,  in  spite  of  peace-crusaders,  is  mostly  to 
be  found  in  any  school  worth  the  name.  It  found  vent  in 
Christ’s  Hospital  of  Charles  I.’s  day,  when  the  boys  turned 
out  in  1639  with  their  drums  and  fifes  to  lead  the  train-bands 
about  the  City.  But  after  the  Restoration  the  need  was  not 
for  volunteers  to  fight  at  home,  but  for  youngsters  to  serve  in 
“ the  King’s  Ships  ” and  to  man  the  growing  mercantile 


“ King  Charles,  our  late  (now  blessed)  King, 
Hath  enlarged  our  Foundation  ; 


Whose  glory  through  the  world  shall  ring, 

By  means  of  navigation.” — An  Easter  Anthem. 


99 


ioo  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

marine.  Charles  II.  was  hardly  re-established  on  his  throne 
before  a naval  war  broke  out  with  Holland.  New  Amster- 
dam was  captured  in  1664,  the  Dutch  were  first  of  all  de- 
feated off  Lowestoft  in  1665,  then  Monk  routed  de  Witt  and 
de  Reuter  at  the  North  Foreland  in  June  1666,  and  once 
again  in  1672  the  Netherlanders  succumbed  to  the  English 
fleet  off  Southwold.  All  these  victories  had  not  been  won 
without  serious  loss  to  the  complement  of  officers,  and  it  was 
natural  that  the  naval  authorities  should  be  on  the  look-out 
for  regular  means  of  supplying  the  loss.  It  would  seem  that 
the  idea  of  founding  a sort  of  “ Britannia  ” in  Christ’s  Hospital 
occurred  first  to  the  mind  of  Sir  Robert  Clayton,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  School’s  benefactors,  whose  family  is  still 
worthily  represented  among  the  Governors.  It  is  indeed  the 
old  story  over  again.  A prominent  citizen  with  a zeal  for 
philanthropic  education  suggests  a plan  to  persons  in  author- 
ity, and  finally  the  King  takes  all  the  credit.  As  the  elder 
Gresham  had  sketched  out  the  foundation  of  which  Edward 
VI.  became  the  Royal  Founder,  so  here  Sir  Robert  Clayton 
whispers  in  the  ear  of  Clifford,  the  Lord  Treasurer,  and 
induces  Sir  Jonas  Moore,  Surveyor-General  of  the  Ordnance, 
and  no  less  a person  than  Mr.  Samuel  Pepys,  Secretary  of 
the  Admiralty,  to  add  their  whispers  to  his.  After  a while, 
probably  at  the  added  instigation  of  James,  Duke  of  York, 
then  Lord  High  Admiral,  there  came  forth  Letters  Patent  of 
King  Charles  II.  bearing  date  August  19th,  1673,  called  by 
courtesy  “the  five  and  twentieth  yeare  of  oure  Raigne.”  They 
are  addressed  to  Osborne,  who  had  been  five  months  in 
office  as  High  Treasurer,  to  the  chancellor,  chamberlains  and 
barons  of  the  Exchequer,  to  the  officers  of  the  Revenue  and 
to  the  Mayor  and  Commonalty  as  trustees  of  the  property 
of  the  Royal  Hospitals,  and  their  preamble  is  as  follows  : — 

‘ Whereas  itt  would  bee  a worke  of  great  piety  and  Charity 
in  itt  selfe  and  of  extraordinary  benefitt  and  advantage  to 
all  our  dominions  if  such  a distinct  foundacon  were  layd  in 
the  said  Hospitall  called  Christs  Hospitall  and  such  an 
Establishment  made  as  might  bee  a convenient  provision 
for  the  mayntenance  of  forty  poore  Boyes  in  the  said 


f';V+ tV-  WM 

4-iif  ?!  d;«i 

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I® 

yil 


the  charter  oe  the  royal  mathematical  school 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  ioi 

Hospitall  whoe  having  attained  to  competence  in  the 
Grammer  and  Comon  Arithmatique  to  the  Rule  of  Three 
in  other  schooles  of  the  said  Hospitall  may  bee  fitt  to  bee 
further  educated  in  a Mathematicall  Schoole  and  there  taught 
and  instructed  in  the  Art  of  Navigacon  and  the  whole 
Science  of  Arithmatique  until  their  age  and  competent 
proficiency  in  these  parts  of  the  Mathematiques  shall  have 
fitted  and  qualified  them  in  the  judgment  of  the  Master 
of  the  Trinity  House  for  the  tyme  being  to  bee  initiated 
into  the  practices  of  Navigation  and  to  bee  bound  out  as 
Apprentices  for  seaven  yeares  to  some  Captaines  or 
Comanders  of  Shipps,  and  that  as  soon  as  any  shall  dye 
or  be  Bound  out  Apprentices  as  aforesaid  Care  bee  taken 
to  supply  theire  number  out  of  such  other  Poore  Boyes 
within  the  said  Hospitall  as  shall  bee  fitt  for  such  kinde 
of  Educacon.’ 

With  this  in  view  the  King  ordains  that  there  shall  be 
in  the  Hospital  a suitable  schoolmaster,  and  that  “ Forty 
Poore  Boys  in  Blew  Coates,”  to  be  known  by  the  name  of 
“ the  Children  of  the  New  Royale  Foundacon,”  are  to  be 
selected  from  the  main  body  of  the  scholars  and  are  to 
wear  a certain  “ kinde  of  Badges  and  Cognizances  upon 
their  Blew  Coates.”  The  expense  of  the  Foundation  is 
met  by  a grant  out  of  the  Exchequer  of  ;£i,ooo  yearly 
“during  the  terme  of  seaven  yeares,”  and  there  is  to  be 
provided  by  the  Governors  “a  convenient  Place  or  Ward 
of  Receipt  and  Entertainment  ” for  these  forty  youths, 
together  with  proper  “ Diett  Lodgeing  Apparell  and  other 
Attendance  and  Accommodacon,”  not  omitting  “some  honest 
Widdow  or  elderly  Mayden  ” to  look  after  their  wants.  The 
Mathematical  Master  must  have  a “Mansion”  in  the  Hospital 
and  the  Governors  must  furnish  the  necessary  “ Bookes, 
Globbes,  Mapps  and  other  Mathematicall  instruments”  for 
the  boys’  instruction.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  or,  if  the 
Master  of  the  Trinity  House  shall  see  fit,  before  that  time, 

• the  boys  are  to  be  bound  as  apprentices  for  seven  years  to 
the  captain  “ of  any  of  our  Shipps  ” or  to  any  “ well- 
experienced  Captayne  ” of  any  other  ship,  and  the  Governors 
must  supply  to  such  children  “ one  compleate  new  Suite 
of  Apparell  fit  for  Sea  Service.”  Finally  provision  is  made 


io2  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


for  a “ visitation  ” of  the  master  and  his  pupils  twice  a year 
at  the  least  by  some  competent  examiner. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  sketch  of  King  Charles’  arrange- 
ments for  the  foundation  of  what  all  Blues  know  familiarly 
as  “ the  Mathemat  ” that  the  merry  Monarch  apparently 
gave  it  an  endowment  of  £7, ooo,  and  Trollope  describes 
this  as  “ little  indeed  ” ; but  the  reader  will  probably  wonder 
not  that  it  was  so  little  but  that  it  was  so  much ; he  will 
remember  that  in  1672,  the  year  preceding  these  Letters 
Patent,  Charles  had  “closed  the  Exchequer”  and  had 
appropriated  over  one  million  sterling  which  had  been  lent 
to  the  Government  by  the  bankers.  What  then  could  have 
induced  the  head  of  a riotous  and  expensive  Court  to  dis- 
gorge £7,000  for  the  provision  of  naval  apprentices?  It 
is,  in  fact,  the  old  story.  The  “ Royal  Founder  ” is  ready 
with  pen  and  paper,  but  his  purse-strings  are  drawn  tightly. 
The  £7,000  was  in  reality  only  part  of  the  generosity  of  a 
former  Governor  of  the  House,  one  Richard  Aldworth.  His 
will,  of  which  the  minutes  of  the  Court-book  are  the  only 
record,  is  dated  December  21st,  1646;  it  gave  the  Governing 
Body  certain  lands  in  Northamptonshire,  and  all  his  estate  not 
otherwise  disposed  of,  in  trust  to  maintain  forty  poor  orphans 
in  the  School.  It  also  appears  from  the  records  that  the 
boys  were  to  have  a distinctive  dress,  a separate  ward,  and 
their  own  particular  “ master,  nurse,  and  washerwoman  ” to 
attend  to  them.  But  the  executors  disputed  the  legacy 
and  proceeded  to  fight  the  matter  out  in  the  Courts,  nor 
were  “ the  law’s  delays  ” any  less  wearisome  under  the 
Protector  than  at  other  times.  So  it  was  not  till  1660  that 
any  account  was  rendered  of  Aldworth’s  bequest.  It  then 
appeared  that  £240  was  due  to  the  Hospital  in  money, 
and  that  no  less  a sum  than  £7,427  was  secured  upon  the 
arrears  of  Excise  revenue — in  other  words,  was  invested  in 
Government  Securities.  Hearing  of  this  the  Governors  at 
once  admitted  the  forty  children  in  June  1660,  giving  them 
a separate  nurse,  but  withholding  the  schoolmaster,  because 
there  was  still  a doubt  whether  these  Government  Securities 
were  so  secure  after  all.  As  a matter  of  fact,  shortly  after 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  103 

the  Restoration,  all  moneys  charged  on  the  security  of  Excise 
ceased  to  be  paid  out,  and  the  Governors  were  driven  in 
December  to  petition  Parliament,  which  directed  the  whole 
sum  to  be  given  them  out  of  the  old  Excise.  But  Parliament 
might  direct  and  the  Privy  Seal  might  appear  on  writs,  but 
the  money  was  not  forthcoming.  The  Governors  had  already 
been  put  to  heavy  expense  in  litigation  and  in  the  installation 
of  the  forty  orphans;  so  in  February  1662-3  the  Court  of  the 
Hospital  decided  that  they  could  not  keep  up  Mr.  Aldworth’s 
work  without  Mr.  Aldworth’s  money,  and  they  distributed 
his  “ poor  orphans  ” among  the  other  wards  of  the  Hospital. 
Yet  how  thankful  the  Governors  were  for  the  very  least  of 
the  Stuart’s  mercies  appears  in  an  entry  of  January  1662. 
Charles  had  sent  them  a demand  for  trees  from  the  Leesney 
Abbey  estate,  bequeathed  to  the  Hospital  in  1633 — trees 
which  were  “ to  bee  planted  in  Greenwich  Park.”  He 
wanted  “ 1000  of  small  burches  aboute  the  biggnesse  of  a 
man’s  finger  and  100  of  bigger  burches  aboute  the  biggnesse 
of  a man’s  rist  with  50  small  chessnutts  and  100  young 
Elmes.”  He  was  pleased  to  offer  satisfaction,  but  “ haveing 
been  very  much  oblidged  to  his  Matie  concerning  the  guift 
of  Richard  Aldworth,  Esq.,  deceased,  they  did  not  thinke 
it  fitt  to  demand  any  satisfaction  for  the  said  Trees  butt 
freely  gave  them  to  his  Matie” — an  example  which  was 
quite  lost  on  him.  It  is  obvious  that  in  the  intervening 
period  Sir  Robert  Clayton,  through  the  Lord  High 
Treasurer,  “kept  on  pegging  away”  at  the  authorities 
with  a view  to  recovering  the  money.  It  is  more  than 
possible  that  he  urged  the  plan  of  using  it  to  educate  boys 
for  the  King’s  ships,  because  he  was  more  likely  to  secure 
the  principal  on  those  conditions.  At  any  rate,  here  is 
the  result : The  Letters  Patent  make  over  to  the  Governors 
£7, 000,  already  theirs  by  right,  and  leave  in  the  King’s 
hands  the  balance  of  ^427,  also  theirs  by  right.  The 
King’s  bounty  is  celebrated  by  the  painting  of  one  of  the 
largest  pictures  in  the  world,  the  work  of  “Signor  Vario,” 
the  King’s  painter,  and  every  “ Mathemat  ” wears  for  ever- 
more a badge  with  this  legend,  “ Auspicio  Caroli  Secundi 
Regis.” 


io4  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


But  in  spite  of  the  King’s  name  being  attached  to  it,  and 
of  Clayton’s  and  Pepys’  zealous  activity  on  its  behalf,  the 
“ Mathemat  ” was  in  almost  immediate  difficulties.  The  first 
lot  of  youthful  navigators  were  ready  for  sea  in  1675,  but  the 
war  with  Holland  came  to  an  end  in  February  1674,  and  the 
naval  establishment  probably  returned  to  a peace  footing. 
Thus  the  employment  of  the  “ King’s  boys  ” in  the  mercantile 
marine,  which  the  Letters  Patent  contemplated  as  a pis  aller , 
became  the  general  rule.  But  it  was  still  involved  in  this 
difficulty,  that  the  shipmasters  regarded  apprenticeship  fees 
as  a natural  hope  of  gain,  whereas,  these  being  “ poore  boys,” 
and  the  Governors  having  received  no  more  than  would 
maintain  them  while  in  the  school,  there  remained  no  margin 
wherewith  to  pay  the  shipmaster’s  fee.  To  this  dilemma 
Pepys  refers  in  a letter  of  some  years  later,  dated  April  2nd, 
1694,  to  be  noticed  again  later.  Here  are  the  words  in 
which  he  describes  the  trouble  and  the  prompt  measures  the 
Admiralty  took  to  provide  a remedy : — 

* Upon  putting  forth  the  first  sett  of  children,  in  1675,  it 
was  found  that,  notwithstanding  all  his  majesty  had  at  this 
house’s  desire  done,  by  his  letters  recommendatory  on  their 
behalves  to  the  principal  societys  of  merchants  in  this  city, 
the  house  was  convinced  of  the  little  hopes  to  bee  had  of 
their  being  able  well  to  dispose  of  these  children,  without 
something  of  money  going  along  with  them ; which  the 
house,  not  being  in  condition  itself  to  bear,  were  pleas’d  by 
Sir  John  Frederick,  their  then  President,  and  a governor  or 
two  more,  to  communicate  it  to  me,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Admiralty,  but  yet  noe  member  of  this  house : Who,  without 
other  solicitation  on  their  part,  obtained  for  them  soon  after, 
under  the  Greate  Seale,  an  establishment  for  ever  of  £s7°  iay- 
per  annum,  for  the  binding  forth  of  these  children  to  merchant 
masters  only.’ 

Pepys  takes  the  credit  for  this  solid  and  speedy  subsidy, 
which  was  confirmed  by  letters  patent,  dated  January  24th, 
1675.  It  was  paid  continuously  up  to  1883,  when  it  was 
commuted  for  a lump  sum,  and  is  the  one  substantial  piece 
of  direct  financial  support  which  Christ’s  Hospital  has  ever 
received  since  its  foundation  from  royal  hands. 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  105 


But  there  still  remained  the  problem  created  by  the  com- 
parative inadequacy  of  Charles’  original  endowment,  and,  as 
at  the  beginning,  private  benevolence  at  once  offered  its  aid. 
Only,  as  the  foundation  was  so  bound  up  with  the  King’s 
name,  there  was  some  doubt  whether  the  monarch,  who 
was  obstinate  even  if  merry,  would  resent  such  interference. 
It  appeared,  on  inquiry  being  made  through  Sir  L.  Jenkins, 
that  Charles  “ would  be  glad  to  see  any  gentleman  graft  upon 
his  stock,”  and  the  first  to  do  so  was  Henry  Stone,  of  Skell- 
ingthorpe,  a Governor  of  the  House.  During  his  lifetime,  in 
July  1686,  he  executed  “indentures  of  lease  and  release,” 
making  over  his  Hadleigh  property  to  trustees,  to  pay  the 
income  to  the  Governors,  “ for  educating  poor  children  of  the 
Hospital,  and  more  especially  such  of  them  as  were  by 
the  then  new  royal  foundation  there  taught  arithmetic  and 
navigation.”  His  will,  dated  July  6th,  1688,  devised  to  the 
Hospital  his  Lincolnshire  manor  of  Skellingthorpe,  with  a 
special  proviso  that  £50  a year  should  be  separated  for  the 
use  of  the  Mathematical  School,  and  this  sum  is  still  used 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  books  and  mathematical  instru- 
ments for  the  members  of  the  Royal  Foundation.  It  will  be 
seen  presently  that  the  watchful  eye  of  Mr.  Pepys  was  upon 
this  legacy,  and  that  it  became  the  cause  of  an  angry  corre- 
spondence. 

Mr.  Stone’s  gift  was  followed  in  1690  by  that  of  Mr. 
Daniel  Colwall,  another  Governor  of  the  Hospital.  His 
benefaction  consisted  of  an  annuity  of  £ 62  8j.,  charged  on 
the  hereditary  Excise,  and  a lump  sum  of  £4, 000.  The 
latter  came  safely  to  hand  in  1691,  but  the  annuity  has  never 
been  paid  from  the  first  day  till  now,  and  may  safely  be 
written  off  as  a bad  debt.  “Don’t  forget,”  writes  Pepys*  to 
his  friend  Reevef  (March  15th,  1694),  “what  you  promis’d  of 
letting  me  see  ye  copy  of  Mr  Colwal’s  will,”  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  zealous  Secretary  to  “ My  Lords  ” was  hoping  to 
make  the  Excise  disgorge  the  annuity  for  the  good  of  his  pet 
Foundation.  If  so,  he  failed. 


Brit.  Mus.  Add.  MSS.  20,732.  + The  Assistant  Clerk  to  the  Governors. 


io6  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


It  is  obvious  that,  with  two  such  gifts  as  these,  added  to  the 
yearly  £1,000  allowed  by  the  Crown,  the  Mathematical  School 
had  something  to  begin  on  ; in  fact,  everything  now  depended 
on  the  selection  of  a suitable  master.  In  this  particular,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  Governors  were  singularly  un- 
lucky. Nor  can  it  be  said  that  they  were  incompetent  to 
choose,  for  they  had  the  advice  of  Sir  Jonas  Moore,  one  of 
the  best  practical  mathematicians  of  the  day.  Born  in  1617, 
his  life  till  the  Restoration  had  been  full  of  strange  vicissi- 
tudes. With  the  return  of  the  King,  he  had  republished  his 
“ Arithmetick,”  adding  to  it  “a  new  contemplation  general  on 
the  ellipsis.”  He  was  knighted  in  1663  after  his  survey  of 
Tangier,  and  made  Inspector-general  of  the  Ordnance,  which 
gave  him  a house  at  the  Tower  and  made  him  a near  neigh- 
bour to  the  Hospital.*  His  interest  provided  the  Foundation 
not  only  with  a watchful  friend  but  with  good  class-books. 
Indeed,  there  is  a naive  and  business-like  letter  from  one 
Robert  Scott,  a publisher,  to  Samuel  Pepys  (November  4th, 
1681),  in  which  he  complains,  from  the  publisher’s  point  of 
view,  how  remiss  the  Hospital  was  in  teaching  the  boys 
“Sir  Jonas  his  Cursus ,”  and  on  Sir  Charles  Scarborough’s 
authority  maintains  “ that  it  would  be  a portion  to  each  boy 
to  have  one  when  they  went  to  sea.”  He  suggests  that 
Mr.  Colwall,  “ being  a good  charitable  person,  and  a great 
esteemer  of  the  memory  of  Sir  Jonas  Moore,  may  be  per- 
suaded to  give,  annually,  such  a number  of  the  books  as  need 
requires.”  The  price,  he  kindly  adds,  he  will  leave  to  Scar- 
borough and  Pepys. 

But,  putting  on  one  side  the  willingness  of  the  publisher 
to  do  business,  it  is  clear  that  all  had  not  gone  quite  well 
with  the  education  of  the  “ King’s  Boys  ” or  with  their 
masters.  Dr.  Leake  (or  Leeke),  the  first  elected,  whose 
appointment  dates  from  1673,  was  evidently  a failure.  For 
he  eked  out  his  salary  of  £50  a year  by  taking  private  pupils, 
and  discipline  went  to  the  winds.  In  fact,  the  tradition  (to 
which  the  conduct  of  recent  generations  gives  no  colour) 


Cf.  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  s.v. 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  107 

that  the  “ Mathemats  ” are  a turbulent  race,  took  its  rise  in 
the  earliest  years  of  their  existence.  Thus  the  minutes  of 
a “Committee  of  Schooles,”  held  on  January  24th,  1678,  have 
the  following  entry 

‘ Whereas  Wm  Hawkes  for  severall  notorious  faults  proved 
against  him  not  only  by  the  Steward  but  all  his  Masters  & 
his  Nurse  after  correction  given  him  he  was  dismissed  by 
this  Committee  out  of  the  Mathematicall  Schoole  & his 
Badge  taken  off,  the  doing  whereof  this  Committee  hopes 
the  Court  will  approve,  all  the  rest  of  the  Children  having 
taken  such  notice  thereof  that  there  appears  a very  great 
reformation  amongst  (sic).’ 

The  young  antinomian  was  obviously  being  punished  in 
part  for  his  Master’s  deficiencies,  and  just  a week  previously 
the  Committee  had  made  up  their  minds  that  Leake  was  no 
good.  They  had  him  before  them,  and  informed  him  that 
in  future  neither  he  nor  any  other  Mathematical  Master 
“ shall  teach  any  other  scholars  than  the  House  children  in 
the  said  school  in  the  hours  from  seaven  to  eleaven  in  the 
morning  and  from  one  to  five,  which  hours  he  must  carefully 
observe.”  Evidently  his  care  of  his  private  pupils  had  meant 
neglect  of  his  proper  charge,  for  the  Committee  go  on  to 
insist  that  “ he  shall  give  correction  to  the  children  under  his 
care  when  need  requires,”  and  then  they  descend  to  further 
details.  He  “ shall  sit  publickly  in  the  School  teaching  and 
interesting  the  children,”  and  “not  in  a private  closett.”  To 
compensate  him  for  the  loss  of  his  private  pupils,  they 
offered  him  an  increase  of  £ 20  a year ; but  Leake  struck 
absolutely.  “ He  told  them  he  would  not  for  £200  p.  annm 
be  obliged  to  sitt  publickly  in  the  schoole,”  and  when  they 
asked  him  how  he  expected  to  “ observe  the  misdemeanours 
of  the  children  ” from  his  “ closett,”  and  to  supply  the  neces- 
sary correction,  “ the  want  of  which  hitherto  hath  tended  to 
the  very  overthrow  of  the  said  ffoundation,”  he  was  still 
of  the  same  mind.  The  upshot  may  again  be  stated  in 
the  Committee’s  own  words : “ being  demanded  how  long 
he  would  stay  he  answered,  till  Lady-Day  next  and  noo 
longer.”  So  they  took  him  at  his  word,  and  the  same  Com- 


io8  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

mittee  which  took  off  the  badge  of  the  pupil  took  away  the 
unused  ferule  of  the  Master ; “ they  desire  the  Court  to 
send  for  him  and  positively  to  acquaint  him  that  he  shall 
otherwise  provide  for  himself  at  Lady  Day,  for  that  the 
Court  are  resolved  to  choose  another  man  in  his  roome 
forthwith.” 

Nor  is  it  right  to  blame  the  Governors  for  expecting  a 
high  standard  both  in  master  and  pupils.  Their  idea  of  the 
former  they  put  into  shape  immediately  on  Leake’s  retire- 
ment, and  it  does  them  no  discredit.  They  required  of  the 
Master — 

‘ i.  That  he  be  a sober  discreet  and  diligent  person  of 
good  life  governement  and  conversation. 

* 2.  That  he  be  a good  schollar  very  wel  understanding 
the  Latine  and  Greek  Languages  to  the  end  the  boyes  may 
be  kept  so,  and  furthered  in  the  Latine  tongue,  and  the 
Master  able  to  answer  straingers  if  need  be  in  that  Language. 

‘ 3.  That  he  doe  write  a very  good  Scrivenor  like  hand, 
that  dureing  the  time  the  Boyes  shall  stay  with  him  he  may 
be  to  them  as  good  as  a Writing  Master.  . . . 

‘ 4.  That  he  be  an  able  and  very  good  Mathematician  well 
knowing  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  all  its  parts  and  soe 
ready  that  noe  strainger  from  abroad  or  Practioners  at  home 
shalbe  able  to  baffle  him,  but  on  the  contrary  shall  finde  his 
abillityes  to  satisfaction.’ 

And  this  many-sidedness  of  the  Master  was  expected  to 
reappear  in  the  pupils. 

In  the  autumn  previous  to  the  event  just  recorded  the 
Committee  of  Schools,  attended  as  usual  at  this  time  by 
Mr.  Pepys,  had  overhauled  the  whole  system,  and  their 
report  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  these  boys, 
as  they  “ weare  the  King’s  badge,”  “ lodge  in  the  King’s 
ward,”  “sitt  at  the  King’s  table,”  and  are  “kept  at  the 
King’s  bounty,”  shall  be  correspondingly  advanced  in  their 
studies.  The  “Mathemat”  of  to-day,  whatever  his  other 
excellences,  is  no  great  Latinist,  though  some  knowledge 
of  the  language  is  now  imparted,  but  the  Committee  of  1677 
require  “the  child’s  being  able  wth  the  help  of  a dictionary 


THE  OLD  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  109 

to  Translate  into  English  (and  give  a grammaticall  acc°  of 
his  soo  dooing)  Erasmus  s Colloquyes,  Cicero  s Epistles,  and 
any  ordinary  Mathematicall  Author  writ  in  that  language, 
and  to  be  able  (with  the  like  help  only)  to  translate  back 
again  into  true  Grammaticall  Latin.”  What  they  want  is 
“(above  all)  to  have  the  system  of  Mathematicks  now  pro- 
viding for  them  by  Sir  Jonas  Moore  translated  as  soon  as 
may  be  into  Latin,  and  their  lesson  both  read  to  and  per- 
formed by  them  in  that  language.” 

Meanwhile  Sir  Jonas  was  busy  preparing  a series  of  class- 
books  on  Practical  Geometry,  Trigonometry,  and  Cosmo- 
graphy. When  he  comes  to  the  preparation  of  his  “Algebra” 
we  are  introduced  to  Dr.  Leake’s  successor,  Mr.  Peter  Perkins, 
who  had  been  elected  in  1679,  the  Court  “being  satisfied  by 
Sir  Jonas  Moore”  that  he  is  “an  excellent  teacher  of  the 
Mathematicks,”  and  who  is  now  called  in  to  assist  Sir  Jonas 
with  his  Algebra  and  his  Euclid.  But  Sir  Jonas  himself 
died  in  1679,  and  Perkins,  who  was  then  engaged  on  the 
volume  on  Navigation,  followed  him  to  the  grave  after  being 
in  office  only  a few  months.  The  “Navigation”  class-book 
was  finally  issued  in  1681,  two  members  of  the  family  of 
Sir  Jonas  being  assisted  in  the  work  by  two  great  Mathema- 
ticians— Flamsteed,  whom  Sir  Jonas  had  brought  up  to 
London  and  who  was  soon  made  a Governor  of  the  Hospital, 
and  Halley,  a precocious  Pauline,  who  lived  close  by  the 
Hospital  in  Aldersgate  Street  and  whose  fame  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  issue  of  Newton’s  Principia.  In  fact,  it  will 
be  gathered  that  the  King’s  Foundation  had  everything  in  its 
favour,  an  endowment,  a plentiful  supply  of  scientific  in- 
struments, a complete  set  of  class-books, — everything  except 
the  requisite  personal  impulse  which  can  only  come  from 
settled  and  sympathetic  instruction.  This,  if  he  had  lived, 
they  might  have  found  in  Peter  Perkins,  for  one  of  the 
very  few  facts  which  the  journals  mention  about  him  shows 
only  an  excess  of  zeal.  He  got  at  cross  purposes  with  the 
“ assistant  nurse  to  the  forty  children  ” and  the  quarrel  came 
before  the  Committee  for  settlement.  After  what  they 
always  call  “ a considerable  debate  ” they  agreed  “ that  it  was 


ITO  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


reasonable  Mr  Perkins  should  give  notice  to  the  nurse  either 
by  going  to  her  or  sending  for  her  what  night  he  intended 
the  children  which  he  shall  name  shall  sitt  up  to  make  their 
observason  of  the  Riseing  and  going  downe  of  the  Moone 
and  Starrs,  and  to  give  her  the  names  of  such  children  in 
writeing,  that  soo  she  may  take  care  that  those  children  after 
that  work  is  over  may  goo  to  their  Bedds  in  due  order, 
and  that  after  he  hath  appointed  the  night  if  it  shall  prove 
cloudy  he  shall  give  timely  notice  to  the  said  Nurse  that 
he  will  not  use  the  said  children,  that  soo  they  may  goo 
to  bedd  in  due  order  with  the  rest.” 

But  Perkins’  untimely  death  again  left  the  boys  without 
a shepherd  ; and  again  Mr.  Pepys  appears  to  have  no  little 
say  in  the  appointment  of  a successor ; nor  was  “ canvassing 
strictly  forbidden.”  Pepys  received  on  December  1 8th,  1680, 
a letter  from  one  Thomas  Sheridan,  a suspected  Papist 
connected  with  the  Irish  Executive,  who  writes  “ upon  so 
slender  a pretence  as  once  dining  with  you,  and  meeting  you 
elsewhere  by  such  another  accident.”  This  apology  intro- 
duces the  statement  that  “ Dr.  Wood,  my  very  good  friend 
of  many  years’  standing,  is  a candidate  for  mathematical 
reader  at  Christ  Church  Hospital.”  Sheridan  urges  not 
only  that  he  is  “a  very  honest  gentleman,”  but,  what  was 
more  to  the  point,  a good  mathematician,  who  had  won  the 
approbation  of  Oughtred ; and  is  further  recommended  for 
his  knowledge  “very  extraordinary,  of  the  revenue,  wherein 
he  has  been  already,  and  might  be  again,  useful  to  his  prince 
and  country.”  Evidently  the  matter  was  taken  into  con- 
sideration, for  ten  days  later  Mr.  Povey  writes  to  Pepys 
to  say  that  he  has  had  a talk  with  Dr.  Wood  who  was 
now  “ convinced  that  the  matter  was  not  indeed  worth 
those  inclinations  he  hath  showed  to  it,  and  that  he  would 
rather  now  make  a decent  retreat  than  advance  into  a further 
competition.”  Nevertheless,  this  same  Dr.  Wood  was  elected 
in  January  1680.  His  plan  seems  to  have  been  to  prove 
that  the  work  of  the  office  was  as  little  “worth  those  in- 
clinations” as  the  office  itself.  For  the  Committee,  having 
presumably  given  him  a free  hand  for  a time,  met  again, 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  tit 


“ Esqr  Pepys”  among  them,  in  September  1681.  Colston, 
the  examiner,  now  reported  that  the  children  were  neglected, 
and  one  can  imagine  the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty  seizing 
the  occasion  to  air  his  science  by  a few  questions  to  the 
children.  “ Upon  examination,”  say  the  minutes,  they  “were 
found  to  be  very  deficient  in  answering  to  what  the  Dr 
said  he  had  taught  them  and  particularly  the  Doctrine  of  the 
Globes.  (The  Dr  alleadged  that  for  some  time  he  had  an 
ague  upon  him  which  hindered  him  from  attending  the  said 
children.  Nevertheless  he  had  constantly  employed  a man 
to  looke  after  them).”  But  the  Committee  were  not  satisfied. 

The  man  whom  he  “ employed  ” was  one  Hodson,  who 
is  described  in  the  Committee-book  as  “a  person  who  by 
the  manners  of  his  conversation,  indecencies  in  habit,  loose- 
ness of  manners,  and  publick  exposing  of  his  intemperance 
to  the  children  has  forfeited  all  sort  of  Awe  from  them  to 
his  discipline.”  Nor  under  these  circumstances  is  it  at  all 
wonderful  that  the  boys  were  not  up  to  the  standard  of  their 
work,  which  is  described  by  Dr.  Wood  as  follows  : — 

1.  ‘The  practicall  principles  of  geometry,  viz.  in  describ- 
ing of  Lines,  Angles,  Parallells,  Chords,  Sines,  Tangents, 
Triangles,  Secants,  and  all  sorts  of  plaine  geometricall  figures 
by  Rular  and  Compasse. 

2.  ‘ The  Division  and  proportionable  Section  of  Lines  with 
the  use  of  the  Diagonall  Scale,  and  the  Rule  of  Proportion 
in  lines,  the  Dividing  of  the  Circumference  of  a Circle,  and 
the  description  of  the  Scale  of  Chords,  Houres,  Rhumbs,  and 
Longitude. 

3.  ‘ Decimall  Arithmetick  with  the  Composition  and  Extrac- 
tion of  the  Square  Root. 

4.  ‘ The  Doctrine  of  plaine  Straitlined  Triangles,  with  the 
use  of  the  Table  of  naturall  and  artificial  Sines  Tangents  and 
Secants,  and  also  the  Logarithms  of  Numbers. 

5-  ‘Propositions  of  the  Julian  Calender  with  the  common 
rules  for  finding  the  motion  of  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Tydes. 

6.  ‘ A generall  Rule  for  finding  the  Latitude  of  any  place 
by  the  Sun  or  fixed  Starrs. 

7.  ‘ Questions  of  plaine  sailing  with  the  use  of  the  plaine 
Sea  Chart. 


1 12  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


8.  ‘ The  use  of  Mr  Gunter’s  Scale. 

9.  ‘ The  doctrine  of  the  Globes. 

10.  ‘The  Projection  of  the  Sphere  or  Circles  of  the  Globe 
on  a plaine  divers  wayes.’ 

But  things  were  “slack”  in  spite  of  this  formidable  curri- 
culum, and  the  Committee  decided  that  they  would  meet 
monthly  to  keep  the  Doctor  up  to  the  mark.  It  is  worth 
while  to  notice  that  their  November  meeting  attacked  the 
favourite  “C.  H.”  topic  of  handwriting,  and  they  resolved  that 
“ each  of  the  children  shall  write  one  peece  a weeke  faire 
and  present  it  to  the  Committee  with  the  day  of  the  month 
when  they  wrote  the  same.”  However,  something  worse  than 
bad  writing  was  the  matter,  and  Dr.  Wood  left  in  the  summer 
of  1682. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Edward  Pagett,  who  devoted  the 
next  thirteen  years  to  the  neglect  of  his  duties,  and  brought 
about  almost  a deadlock  in  the  work  of  the  Foundation. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  Committee  thought  they  had 
done  well  in  selecting  Pagett,  who  was  a Fellow  of  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge;  and  when  his  salary  was  fixed  at  £100 
a year  he  “ promised  by  the  blessing  of  God  faithfully  and 
carefully  to  discharge  the  place,  which  gave  the  Court  great 
satisfaction.”  But  one  person  was  far  from  satisfied  and  was 
breathing  vengeance.  This  was  Mr.  Richard  Norris,  one  of 
the  unsuccessful  candidates.  A few  days  after  Pagett  had 
begun  his  work,  Mr.  Norris  was  at  the  Gresham  Lectures 
and  found  himself  near  some  “ Mathemats,”  who  reported 
to  the  Committee  of  July  9th,  1682,  that  his  conversation 
was  as  follows.  He  first  asked  them  what  Pagett  had 
taught  them,  and  was  told  some  geometry  and  some  algebra. 
“ He  made  answer  ” — so  their  record  runs — “ that,  when  we 
came  to  Trinity  House  to  be  examined,  we  should  not  come 
off,  for  we  should  be  examined  by  him  in  that  which  neither 
we  nor  our  Master  ever  heard  off.”  He  concluded  by  being 
rude  enough  to  say,  “ Mr.  Pagett  stands  in  need  of  a rope 
dictionary,”  and  showed  his  hand  by  asserting  “ that  if  the 
Governors  had  but  tried  them  that  Peticoned  for  the  place  in 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  1 13 

Na.vig3.tion  he  himself  should  have  had  the  place.  At  the 
same  time  there  may  be  some  connexion  between  his  griev- 
ance and  the  fact  that  in  a few  months  Pagett  had  leave 
“ to  go  to  sea  to  view  the  coaste  ” for  three  months,  either 
at  Easter  or  Whitsuntide,  with  a hint  that  he  had  better 
take  it. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  Pagett’s  defects,  they  were 
part  and  parcel  of  a time  of  general  laxness  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Hospital,  which,  as  it  has  no  parallel  at  any  other 
period,  serves  only  to  show  up  the  general  carefulness  with 
which  resources  have  at  all  times  been  husbanded  and  wisely 
employed.  This  lax  period  synchronises  with  the  Treasurer- 
ship  of  Nathaniel  Hawes,  from  1683  to  1699.  The  unkind- 
ness of  over-indulgent  praise  was  never  more  aptly  displayed 
than  in  the  inscription  on  Hawes’  memorial  tablet  in  the 
cloisters,  which  calls  him — lucus  a non  lucendo — “a  careful  and 
faithful  Treasurer  of  Christ’s  Hospital.”  It  is  obvious  that  very 
early  in  Hawes’  tenure  of  office  Pepys  had  taken  the  measure 
of  his  incompetence  and  had  decided  not  to  have  his  official 
strictness  besmirched  by  the  evil  communications  of  Hawes’ 
carelessness.  The  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty  retired  to  his 
den  at  York  House,  and  waited  for  the  Hospital  to  invite 
him  out.  Trollope*  suggests  that  “the  Revolution  of  1688 
had  been  the  means  of  interrupting”  Pepys’  personal  atten- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  the  Foundation.  But,  in  the  first  place, 
it  would  require  more  than  the  Revolution  to  entice  Pepys 
from  his  official  duties,  among  which  he  reckoned  the  care 
of  the  “Mathemats”;  and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  Mr.  Hawes 
was  actually  in  correspondence  with  him  on  May  1st,  1688, 
or  just  midway  between  the  day  on  which  the  Declaration  of 
Indulgence  was  published  (April  27th)  and  that  on  which 
came  the  order  that  it  should  be  read  in  the  churches  (May 
4th).  If  public  excitement  were  any  excuse  for  neglect  of 
duty,  there  was  plenty  of  it  at  that  moment.  Hawes’  letter 
gave  Pepys  exactly  the  handle  he  wanted.  “Worthy,  most 
honoured  Sir,”T  he  writes  to  the  great  man,  “on  supposal  no 

* Hist.  Christ's  Hospital , p.  81. 

t Brit.  Mus.  Add.  MS.  20,732. 

I 


ii4  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


needful  care  be  wanting  for  the  utmost  improvement  of  the 
forty  boys  of  his  late  Majesty’s  Foundation  in  their  skill  in 
mathematics  and  navigation,  nor  any  diminution  nor  aliena- 
tion of  the  least  part  of  the  revenues  or  other  provision,” 
will  Pepys  be  good  enough  to  get  his  Majesty’s  permission 
for  admitting  to  the  Mathematical  School  “a  greater  number 
of  the  children  than  these  forty”?  Well,  it  is  pretty  certain 
that  during  that  fatal  week  in  the  beginning  of  May,  1688, 
King  James  II.  was  not  in  a fit  state  to  be  troubled  with  any 
nicely  calculated  less  or  more  in  regard  to  the  “ Mathemats  ” 
of  Christ’s  Hospital,  and  the  political  impasse  probably  gave 
Pepys  just  the  opportunity  he  wanted  for  bringing  pressure 
to  bear  on  Mr.  Treasurer  Hawes,  who  had  already  had  five 
years  in  which  to  display  his  want  of  fitness  for  his  important 
office.  Pepys  maintained  his  watchful  interest  in  all  that 
was  going  on  by  the  help  of  his  cousin,  Major  Aungier,  a 
member  of  the  “ Committee  of  Schooles.”  The  very  boys 
themselves  seemed  to  know  that  they  had  an  active  friend 
in  the  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty.  For  instance,  Pepys  took 
up  his  pen  at  “f  past  8 at  night”  on  August  12th,  1696,  to 
write  to  “ Mr  Steward  ” as  the  officer  in  general  charge. 
“Your  two  late  runaways,”  he  wrote,  “are  (I  am  told)  at  my 
door,  and  by  my  Porter  I understand  their  business  to  be 
to  obtain  my  leave  to  open  some  complaints.”  But  Pepys 
refused  to  see  them,  and  contented  himself  with  a parting 
rebuke  to  the  general  management,  being  “ grieved  to  hear 
what  your  whole  neighbourhood  rings  of,  touching  the  present 
discipline  of  the  School  these  boys  relate  to.” 

As  a matter  of  fact,  his  active  interference  had  begun 
again  three  years  before.  On  March  1st,  1693,  on  the  invita- 
tion of  the  Treasurer,  he  sent  his  views  to  Mr.  Parrey,  the 
Clerk.  “ I had  thought  all  occasion  over  for  your  being 
troubled  more  from  this  hand  of  mine  that  I think  has  not 
appeared  to  you  on  any  of  the  affaires  of  the  Hospitall  now 
for  more  than  ten  years.”  Still,  as  his  opinion  had  been 
asked,  he  was  willing  to  give  it;  but  he  wanted  certain 
information  first  on  some  six  different  points:  “A  table  of 
times  heretofore  assigned  for  the  stay  of  the  children  in  their 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  1 15 

severall  schooles.  The  instructions  of  the  Gramar  and 
Math"  Masters.  Their  first  and  present  salaries.  My  paper 
of  generall  Reflections  and  advice  to  the  House  (I  have  for- 
got in  what  yeare).  The  value  of  the  yearly  revenue  settled 
by  the  Crown  and  private  benefactors  on  the  Foundation. 
The  yearly  charge  and  balance  sheet  and  a statement 
showing  what  real  estate  has  been  acquired.”  It  will  be  of 
interest  to  follow  the  fate  of  these  fairly  natural  and  pertinent 
questions.  Four  weeks  later  (March  29th)  they  were  con- 
sidered by  the  Committee,  and,  “ the  officers  being  all  full  of 
business,”  the  answers  were  postponed  till  after  Easter. 
Another  month  passed  and  (April  26th)  the  Committee, 
“ having  severall  businesses  of  moment  to  dispatch,”  appointed 
a sub-committee  to  deal  with  “ Esq.  Pepys’  ” queries,  very 
much  as  a latter-day  Government  resorts  to  a Royal  Com- 
mission. By  May  23rd  something  had  actually  been  done. 
Mr.  Parrey  presented  his  “account,”  and  Mr.  Reeve,  the 
Receiver,  presented  his ; but  the  two  did  not  agree,  and  an 
order  was  therefore  given  that  a joint  account  should  be 
prepared.  Yet  another  month,  and  on  June  21st,  “this  day 
7 night  ” was  fixed  for  a consideration  of  their  answer. 
“ This  day  7 night  ” came  and,  “ for  as  much  as  there  is  but 
a small  appearance,”  they  postponed  it  for  another  week. 
On  July  5th  the  Committee  actually  debated  the  question 
and,  “ finding  his  (Pepys’)  inquiries  are  of  great  moment,” 
they  referred  them  to  the  General  Court,  which  met  on 
August  1 8th  and  referred  the  answers  back  to  the  Com- 
mittee. The  latter,  on  October  nth,  considered  them  para- 
graph by  paragraph.  They  entered  it  on  their  minutes  that 
they  “ did  think  it  very  advisable  and  necessary  not  to  dis- 
oblige the  said  Esqr  Pepys  in  anything,  especially  in  whatso- 
ever concerns  the  Mathematicall  Foundation.”  But,  lest 
there  should  be  any  great  haste,  they  again  asked  the  Court 
for  instructions  as  to  how  they  should  answer  the  different 
heads  of  Pepys’  questions.  At  last,  on  November  15th,  the 
Committee  felt  themselves  in  a position  to  order  that  “ all 
these  articles  ” should  be  “ answered  by  giving  a true  and 
just  account  of  all  receipts  and  payments.”  As  the 


1 16  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


“articles”  were  dated  March  ist  and  the  answers  November 
15th,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  deny  Pepys’  right  to  put 
in.  his  questions,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  had 
a grievance.  Pepys,  however,  began  again  early  in  1694,  and 
we  are  now  able  to  follow  his  action  closely  by  means  of  the 
ample  set  of  autograph*  letters  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.  His  plan  was  to  have  friends  on  the  spot,  such 
as  Mr.  Reeve,  and  his  “coz,”  Captain  Aungier,  and  his 
settled  purpose  was  to  have  a proper  scheme  for  Mr.  Stone’s 
gift.  So  on  March  15th  he  tells  Reeve  to  jog  “ Mr  T rear’s” 
memory  about  this  proposal,  and  “ don’t  forget  what  you 
promis’d  of  letting  me  see  ye  copy  of  Mr  Colwal’s  will.” 
This  has  the  result  of  bringing  an  answer  from  Hawes  the 
very  next  day.  “If  we  had  only  known,”  says  Hawes  in 
effect,  “ that  you  were  so  keen  about  it,  we  would  have 
opened  up  communications  before  this  ” ; as  it  is,  it  must 
be  postponed  till  after  the  Visitation.  But,  he  goes  on, 
“ Sir,  our  sub-committee  of  schooles,  upon  reasonable 
grounds  as  they  esteem  them,  have  postponed  the  visita- 
tion to  ye  Passion  Week,”  and  Pepys  restrained  his  im- 
patience, and  on  the  same  paper  sent  word  by  the  Treasurer’s 
messenger  that  he  was  willing  “ to  respite  for  soe  little  a 
while  ye  troubling  yr  court.”  The  next  letter,  as  being 
intended  for  presentation  to  the  assembled  Governors,  is 
written  in  Mr.  Pepys’  best  copperplate,  which,  by  the  way, 
was  very  good  indeed.  It  is  dated  April  2nd,  1694.  “ Holy 

Week”  is  now  begun,  and  the  visitation  is  taking  place;  but 
Pepys  must  “ unbespeak  your  expectations  of  my  assistance 
at  it  from  an  impediment  you  are  noe  stranger  to.”  “ Nor, 
indeed,”  he  goes  on,  “should  I (I  doubt)  be  much  for- 
warder in  it  were  I otherwise  at  liberty ; while  I think  upon 
the  affliction  our  last  meeting,  on  a like  occasion,  cost  me, 
notwithstanding  the  amends  you  many  months  agoe  told 
me  Mr.  Pagett  had  made  since  his  return  for  the  ill  effects 
of  his  absence.”  Briefly  what  he  wants  is  a drastic  improve- 
ment in  the  system  of  examination,  “an  account  from  our 
examiners,  under  their  hands,  of  each  distinct  Child  s 
* Brit.  Mus.  Add.  MS.  20,732. 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  117 


proficiency  in  every  of  the  Articles  of  Instruction  apart, 
enjoyn’d  for  their  learning,  with  the  Grounds  and  Demonstra- 
tions of  the  same.”  Even  Mr.  Halley,  apparently,  had  given 
a report  which  was  “ entirely  rejected,  for  its  too  generalness.” 
And  then  follows  a sentence  which  testifies  to  the  thorough- 
ness of  Pepys’  system  of  interference.  “ I have  prepared, 
and  here  enclose  you,  transcripts  of  the  particular  instruc- 
tions soe  to  be  by  them  (the  examiners)  especially  regarded 
in  their  examinations,  with  respect  to  the  children,  as  well  of 
the  Grammar , as  Mathematical  Schoole.”  He  closes  with 
two  broad  hints  on  matters  that  he  was  constantly  pressing. 
He  wants  to  have  a private  visitation  of  the  children  himself 
at  York  House,  and  the  settling  of  the  scheme  for  the  Stone 
bequest  will  depend  upon  “my  report”  of  “the  children’s 
proficiencies.” 

While  “ Mr  Treasurer”  is  considering  this  ultimatum, 
Pepys  goes  quietly  on  with  his  efforts  to  secure  the  practical 
working  of  the  Foundation.  On  Easter  Eve,  April  17th,  he 
writes  to  Mr.  Hunter,  of  Trinity  House,  asking  him  “to  look 
over  ye  indentures  entered  into  at  ye  Boys  being  bound  out 
(which  I suppose  you  have  by  you  bundled  up),”  and  sends 
him  in  official  exactness  a printed  list  of  those  who  have  gone 
to  sea,  with  notes  “of  ye  particular  year  wherein  each  boy’s 
apprenticeship  severally  expires.”  Hunter  is  “ to  sett  a tick 
at  each  Boy’s  name  whose  Indentures  have  been  taken  up ; 
leaving  ye  rest  untick’d.”  Pepys  will  thus  get  an  idea  of  the 
permanent  good  derived  from  the  training  given  at  the 
Hospital.  The  Monday  following  (Easter  Monday)  he  is 
bothering  Reeve,  the  assistant  clerk,  for  a new  list  of 
Governors,  which  is  to  be  sent  to  him  “ by  one  of  your 
beadles,”  and,  after  signing  himself  “ your  very  loving  friend,” 
he  returns  in  a postscript  to  the  old  subject,  which  is  sore 
enough  to  make  havoc  of  his  diction  : “ I have  yet  heard 
nothing  of  the  Answer  you  told  me  the  other  day  from 
Mr  Trearer  I might  expect  some  time  from  him  to  my  last.” 
Next  day  comes  a letter  from  Treasurer  Hawes  to  Mr.  Pepys 
with  as  little  satisfaction  as  usual.  Five  boys,  he  says,  have 
passed  the  Trinity  House  examination  and  will  be  leaving 


n8  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


too  soon  to  be  personally  tested  by  Pepys.  So,  “ to  prevent 
the  hazard  of  a forfeiture,”  let  Pepys  reply  at  once  “about 
Mr  Stone’s  business.”  It  is  a pretty  game  at  cross  purposes. 
The  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty  wants  his  perquisite  as  a 
private  examiner  of  the  “King’s  boys,”  and  the  Treasurer 
is  anxious  to  secure  the  use  of  Mr.  Stone’s  legacy.  Take 
Pepys’  next  important  deliverance,  the  letter  of  May  4th, 
1694,  which  occupies  six  of  Trollope’s  ample  pages,  and  is  too 
long  to  give  in  full  here.  He  taunts  the  Governors  with  the 
many  months  of  delay  in  answering  his  questions;  he  sets 
his  own  “applications”  against  the  “industrys  on  the  other 
side,”  which  had  “been  practis’d,  for  the  preventing  me  in 
it  ” ; he  takes  “ leave  to  tell  you,  that  as  farr  as  the  account 
and  papers,  handed  by  the  Treasurer  to  you,  and  from  you  to 
me,  are  to  be  relied  on,  I cannot  observe  one  single  article  left 
unviolated  through  its  whole  constitution  ” ; but  as  to  Mr. 
Stone’s  gift  he  has  “ respited  the  delivering  any  opinion.” 

It  must  have  been  an  aggravating  letter  to  receive,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  inefficient  state  into  which  the 
Mathematical  School  was  sunk,  nor  yet  of  the  reason  for  it. 
Poor  Hawes,  who  had  just  confessed  in  a letter  to  Pepys 
(April  24th,  1694,  Brit.  Mus.)  that  he  “grew  very  old,”  tried 
hard  to  make  the  best  of  the  case.  “ I thank  God,”  he  says, 
“ I have  daily  demonstrations  that  we  doe  not  decline  in  our 
Reputations,”  and  “ we  are  not  in  soe  unhappy  and  il  state 
as  your  Honr  is  pleased  (I  hope  without  just  ground)  to 
conclude.”  But  Pepys  knew  his  facts,  and  he  could  put  his 
finger  on  the  reason.  Pagett,  the  great  Trinity  mathematician, 
on  whom  the  Committee  had  set  their  hopes,  was  a shuffler, 
and  the  Committee  had  been  hopelessly  weak  in  conniving 
at  his  shuffling.  We  have  seen  already  that  soon  after  his 
appointment  he  received  leave  to  go  and  “ view  the  coast,”  in 
other  words  to  take  a sea  voyage,  and  his  appetite  for  leave 
grew  by  what  it  fed  on.  It  was  probably  in  order  to  satisfy 
this  desire  that  in  June  1689,  though  the  numbers  in  his 
school  had  not  increased,  he  applied  for  an  assistant.  What 
became  of  the  application  is  not  quite  clear,  but  the  Com- 
mittee went  as  far  as  a resolution  that  “ Mr  Nuton  Professor 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  119 

of  the  Mathematicks  and  one  of  the  ffellowes  of  Trinity 
Colledge  in  Cambridge”  should  be  asked  to  report  on  the 
qualifications  of  Linwood  and  Fletcher,  two  “ Blues  ” then  at 
the  University.  But  at  the  end  of  May  1692  Pagett  actually 
“ requested  the  Comee  to  give  him  liberty  to  be  absent  from 
his  schoole  for  four  or  five  months,  having  some  occasion  to 
goo  over  to  fflanders  and  Holland,  and  he  will  recommend 
a very  fit  and  able  person  to  supply  his  place  in  his  absence”; 
and  the  complaisant  Committee,  “concluding  (if  it  shall  please 
God  to  spare  his  life)  that  his  gooing  abroad  may  conduce 
much  to  the  further  improvement  and  advantage  of  the  boyes 
under  his  care,”  reported  to  the  Court  that  he  had  better 
be  allowed  to  go.  It  would  seem  that  Dutch  William  was 
in  vogue  in  the  Hospital  at  the  time,  for  a few  months 
previously  a child  of  “ Samuel  and  Mary  Mountford  ” had 
been  christened  in  Christ  Church  by  the  simple  name  “ Myn- 
heer.” William  was  then  in  the  middle  of  his  Dutch  cam- 
paign, and  Pagett  no  doubt  arrived  in  time  to  see  his 
sovereign  defeated  at  Steinkirk  on  August  3rd,  1692.  Any- 
how he  enjoyed  his  summer  outing  so  much  that  in  the  May 
following  he  asked  permission  to  repeat  it,  and  this  time 
implied  that  he  occupied  some  official  post  in  the  public 
service.  The  minute  (May  31st,  1693)  says  that  he  asked 
“ liberty  for  about  four  months  to  goo  over  into  Flanders,  being 
sent  for  thither  by  the  Dean  of  Winchester  * for  the  service 
of  the  Publick,  and  he  will  take  care  that  his  place  shall 
be  supplyed  in  his  absence  by  a sufficient  and  able  man 
at  his  owne  cost  and  charge,  wch  (if  the  Comee  pleases  to 
grant)  he  hopes  will  be  a meanes  to  gain  him  selfe  more 
experience  in  the  Practick  parts  of  navigation  and  fortifica- 
tion, and  also  strengthen  and  confirme  him  in  his  health,  wch 
was  restored  unto  by  his  gooing  abroad  the  last  yeare.” 
Again  the  Committee,  “ after  a very  large  and  solemne 
debate,”  referred  the  matter  to  the  Court,  which  granted 

I am  indebted  to  the  present  Dean  for  the  suggestion  that  this  is  Dean  Wicart, 
a Dutchman,  and  one  of  William’s  chaplains.  He  was  installed  January  1693, 
rarely  resided  in  Winchester,  but  may  have  placed  some  pieces  of  Dutch  glass  in 
the  Deanery  windows. 


120  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

Pagett  leave  on  June  2nd,  1693.  The  only  sign  of  grace 
is  the  understanding  arrived  at  “that  he  will  never  desire 
the  like  thing  for  the  future.”  Yet  he  did  desire  it,  as  a letter 
from  Major  Aungier  to  Pepys  clearly  shows  (Brit.  Mus., 
July  1 2th,  1694);  but  this  time  “the  Court  have  positively 
denied  him.”  Finally  Pagett  fell  ill  and  was  “ for  many  days 
sick  of  a feaver  ” ; no  substitute  was  provided  by  him  or  put 
in  by  the  Committee,  and  when  he  recovered  he  found  that 
the  best  thing  he  could  do  was  to  resign.  It  was  high  time. 

But,  before  his  successor  was  appointed,  Pepys  thought 
it  would  be  well  to  have  an  independent  examination  into 
the  state  of  the  King’s  boys  and  their  knowledge.  So  he 
wrote  to  the  Governors  on  January  20th,  1695,  to  say  that 
he  had  asked  Mr.  Toilet,  “Secretary  to  the  Honourable  the 
Commissioners  appointed  by  Parliament  for  taking  the  public 
accounts,”  to  be  the  examiner;  and  the  Treasurer  replied 
that  the  Governors  had  not  the  slightest  objection.  When 
the  election  of  a new  Mathematical  Master  came  on  there 
were  five  candidates,  the  chief  of  whom  were  Caswell,  an 
Oxonian,  and  Samuel  Newton,  who  received  “a  good  charac- 
ter” from  “ Mr  Isaac  Newton.”  This  and  the  fact  that  he 
professed  to  “ understand  the  Latin  tounge  very  well,”  carried 
the  day  for  Samuel  Newton.  But  Sir  Isaac’s  testimonial  was 
as  trustworthy  as  most  others.  Six  months  later,  when  the 
Committee  had  already  begun  to  doubt  whether  they  had  got 
the  right  man,  the  great  Professor  writes  to  explain  away 
his  praises.  “ I never  took  him  ” [Samuel  Newton],  he  says, 
“ for  a deep  Mathematician,  but  recommended  him  as  one 
who  had  Mathematicks  enough  for  your  business  with  such 
other  quallifications  as  fitted  him  for  a Master  in  respect  of 
temper  and  conduct  as  well  as  learning.”  He  then  goes  on 
to  discount  his  whole  evidence;  for  “I  was  almost  a stranger 
to  him  when  I recommended  him,  yet  since  he  was  elected, 
I reckon  myself  concerned  that  he  should  answer  my  re- 
commendation.” But  this  was  just  what  Samuel  Newton 
failed  to  do.  He  tried  to  push  on  the  work  for  a time,  but 
his  temper  was  clearly  none  of  the  best.  The  two  runaways 
who  found  their  way,  as  before  related,  to  Pepys’  office, 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  121 


wanted  to  complain  both  of  the  labours  and  the  “ lashings  ” 
inflicted  on  them  by  Newton,  and  had  been  encouraged  to 
“chase”  by  their  nurses’  sympathy.  The  Committee  had 
one  of  their  “ solemn  debates  ” over  this  incident,  and 
“ordered  Mr  Newton  not  to  use  any  such  thing  as  a fTerillo 
in  his  schoole  for  the  future  but  rather  as  there  is  occasion 
to  lash  them,”  which  apparently  he  did.  Still,  as  years  went 
on,  and  especially  in  1707  and  1708,  the  teaching  failed  to 
bring  the  boys  up  to  the  standard.  When  the  Trinity  House 
examiners  complained  of  their  inefficiency,  Newton  persuaded 
the  Committee  that  the  “ Mathemats  ” were  not  given  a fair 
chance,  and  the  Committee  (June  9th,  1708)  ordered  Newton 
to  attend  the  examination  himself  “and  by  that  meanes 
prevent  the  boyes  being  imposed  on  in  any  manner  of  wise.” 
Alas!  at  the  next  examination  (December  3rd,  1708)  all  his 
five  candidates  were  sent  back  as  inefficient  and  “ more 
ignorant  in  their  business  than  any  others  that  have  of  late 
years  come  before  them.”  Then  there  was  a hastily  sum- 
moned meeting  of  the  Committee,  and  Newton  “delivered 
in  writing  under  his  own  hand  the  paper  following.”  It  is 
better  worth  putting  on  record  than  anything  else  in  his 
story. 

‘ Gentlemen, 

‘ I have  had  the  Honour  of  being  Master  of  the 
Royall  Foundation  for  almost  fourteen  years,  during  which 
terme  I am  not  conscious  of  any  neglect  of  my  duty  even 
for  one  day.  I now  begin  to  find  the  truth  of  what  Solomon 
once  declared  that  a Morsel  of  Bread  in  peace  is  better  than 
a stalled  oxe  with  strife  and  contention,  and  humbly  beg  leave 
to  assure  your  Worp8  that  as  it  was  a great  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  to  me,  when  I was  chosen  into  this  office,  that 
I leave  the  same  with  as  great  a satisfaction,  and  humbly 
hereby  resigne  the  said  office  to  be  disposed  of  as  your 
Worp8  (according  to  your  wonted  prudence)  think  most 
proper  for  the  Royall  Foundation.’ 

And  that  is  the  last  of  Samuel  Newton,  except  a resolution 
passed  early  in  January  1709  that  he  is  to  be  out  of  his 
official  residence  “in  fourteen  dayes  at  the  farthest.” 


i22  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Still,  if  it  failed  to  realise  all  that  Mr.  Pepys  expected 
of  it,  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the  Mathematical 
Foundation  was  doing  nothing  at  all.  Year  after  year  the 
captains  of  the  Mercantile  Marine  were  willing  enough  to 
have  the  boys  as  apprentices,  and  more  exalted  sailors 
showed  their  readiness  to  have  them  in  their  service,  as  one 
or  two  instances  will  show.  “ I have  now  the  honour,”  wrote 
Sir  Francis  Wheeler  in  1691,  “to  command  the  Albemarle , 
and  am  very  desirous  to  have  one  of  the  Mathematical!  boyes 
. . . by  assignement.  I had  about  a yeare  ago  one  that  was 
bred  up  to  accompts  by  you,  and  I found  him  so  quick  and  so 
hopefull  that  upon  his  death  I was  very  sorry,  which  leads  me 
to  beg  the  favour  that  you’l  please  oblige  me  with  one,  and 
I’le  engage  in  any  security  to  breed  him  according  to  your 
institution  . . . and  onely  desire  him  to  be  well  provided 
with  two  suits  of  Clothes  and  Linnen.”  Admiral  Russell 
had  another  boy  at  the  same  time  on  the  same  terms,  and 
both  officers  received  the  thanks  of  the  House,  which  saved 
itself  the  usual  leaving  allowance  in  each  case. 

Of  course,  neither  shipmasters  nor  apprentices  were  always 
equally  well  pleased  with  each  other,  and  that  sort  of  event 
is  more  likely  to  be  put  on  the  records  than  the  many  cases 
where  all  went  right  and  nothing  went  wrong.  An  instance 
of  each  sort  must  suffice.  A shipmaster  came  to  the  Com- 
mittee in  1708  and  reported  that  one  Richard  Gibbins,  who 
had  been  apprenticed  to  him,  had  absconded  within  a year, 
and  “ hee  hath  very  good  reason  to  believe  that  he  is  marryed 
to  a daughter  of  Nurse  Coles,  by  name  Elizth,  & that,  soon 
before  he  went  out  of  the  Hospitall.”  This  terrible  indict- 
ment, of  course,  resulted  in  an  oration  to  all  the  nurses  about 
the  wickedness  of  “harbouring”  their  daughters  in  their 
rooms.  But  the  fault  was  not  always  with  the  “ Mathemat.” 
He  often  found  that  he  had  to  deal  not  only  with  his  captain, 
but  with  a “power  behind”  his  captain.  Take  the  comical 
case  of  a boy  called  Burchard.  He  had  been  bound  to 
Admiral  Sir  Thomas  Dilks,  who  died  within  two  years.  So 
the  Committee  (November  19th,  1708)  sent  to  ask  Lady 
Dilks  for  the  lad’s  indentures.  “ But  she  hapned  to  be  soo 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  123 

indisposed  that  she  could  not  be  spoke  with,  but  being 
acquainted  with  the  business  by  one  of  her  servants,  she 
sent  down  word  that  she  would  not  part  with  the  Indenture, 
and  that  she  would  send  to  Captain  Hogg,  Comander  of 
the  Rupert  (in  which  ship  the  said  young  man  was  entered) 
to  have  him  prickrun  for  absenting  himself  from  on  board 
the  said  ship.”  It  is  to  be  hoped  for  the  boy’s  sake  that  the 
“ further  measures  ” taken  by  the  Committee  brought  this 
disconsolate  widow  to  her  senses. 

Meanwhile  there  are  signs  of  effort  to  make  the  education 
of  the  “Mathemats”  both  more  practical  and  more  systematic. 
In  1705  their  schoolroom  contained  two  full-rigged  ships. 
John  Green  was  paid  £6  for  “the  new  Rigging  of  the  Ship 
which  stands  in  a case  in  the  Mathematicall  Schoole  ” 
(February  16th,  1705),  and  “23  guinneys  ” went  to  a man  at 
Woolwich  for  the  construction  of  a new  ship  (March  16th, 
1705).  Mr.  Ditton,  one  of  the  masters,  had  “a  good  pair 
of  globes”  in  prospect  at  a cost  of  £5,  and  was  allowed 
to  buy  them.  As  for  the  general  system,  of  which  an 
account  has  already  been  given  as  it  was  laid  down  in 
Dr.  Wood’s  time,  it  underwent  a close  revision  in  1694-6, 
apparently  at  Pagett’s  suggestion  and  by  the  connivance 
of  Pepys.  The  advice  of  the  Professors  of  Mathematics 
at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  was  sought  for  in  the  matter, 
and  Isaac  Newton’s  answer  occupies  eight  closely  written 
pages  (472-9)  of  the  Committee  Book.  In  it  he  criticises 
the  old  scheme  with  some  severity : it  put  Arithmetic  much 
too  late,  “ for  a man  may  understand  and  teach  Arithmetic 
without  any  other  skill  in  Mathematicks,  as  Writing  Masters 
usually  doe,  but  without  Arithmetick  he  can  be  skilled  in 
noe  other  part  of  Mathematicks.”  In  fact,  he  implies,  several 
articles  of  the  former  schedule  seem  out  of  place,  as  though 
they  “ set  them  downe  by  chance  as  they  first  thought  upon 
them,”  and  there  is  a great  lack  of  good  teaching  in 
Mechanics,  in  which  connexion  he  refers  to  “ the  great 
advantage  the  French  at  present  have  above  all  other 
nations  in  the  goodness  of  their  engineers.”  The  revised 
scheme  of  1696,  drawn  up  by  Sir  Matthew  Andrews,  is  as 


I24  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


follows;  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  Newton’s  advice  had 
some  effect ; indeed  he  came  as  a Governor  and  a member 
of  the  Corhmittee  of  Schools  to  see  the  result  at  the 
Visitation  of  September  1697. 

‘ 1.  Arithmetick  in  Integers,  Vulgar  & Decimal  fractions, 
the  extraction  of  Roots,  Square  & Cube,  & the  use  of 
Logarithms. 

‘ 2.  The  Principles  of  Geometry  in  the  Delineation  and 
mensuration  of  Planes  and  Solids  with  the  application 
thereof. 

‘3.  Plain  and  spherical  Trigonometry,  Geometrically, 
Arithmetically  and  instrumentally  performed  in  all  the 
various  cases  of  rectangular  & obliquangular  Triangles. 

‘4.  The  use  of  the  Globes  Celestial  & Terrestrial  with 
the  stereographick  projection  of  the  sphere  upon  the  plain 
of  any  great  circle. 

‘ 5.  Sphericall  triangles  applyed  to  the  solution  of  all  the 
usefull  problems  in  Astronomy  for  finding  the  suns  ampli- 
tude Azimuth  and  Variation  of  the  Compass.  As  also  to 
the  solution  of  all  propositions  in  geography  in  all  the 
four  various  scituations  of  places,  commonly  called  great 
circle  sayling. 

‘6.  Plainsayling  (viz4)  the  construction  and  use  of  the 
plain  Sea  Chart  in  all  the  cases  thereof,  the  working  of 
Traverses,  the  solution  of  all  plain  Sayling  questions 
geometrically,  Arithmethically  & Instrumentally,  with 
absolute  directions  for  keeping  a Journall  at  Sea,  and  to 
correct  the  Ships  dead  reckoning,  by  observing  the  Sun 
or  any  fixed  Starr  upon  the  Meridian,  with  the  application 
of  Plain  Triangles  to  oblique  Sailing,  & the  Doctrine  of 
Currents. 

‘7.  Mercators  sailing  to  be  done  in  all  respects  as  Plain 
Sailing  in  Article  6, — with  the  true  use  of  the  Logline  & 
| minute  glass. 

*8.  To  find  the  quantity  of  a degree  upon  any  great 
circle.  The  use  of  instruments  proper  for  observing  the 
Ships  latitude  at  Sea,  As  the  Cross  Staffe,  Quadrant,  and 
other  necessary  Instruments  as  the  Sector  & Gunter’s 
Ruler. 

•g.  The  Construction  & use  of  right-lined  & circular 
Mapps,  the  practice  of  Drawing  for  laying  down  the 
appearances  of  Lands,  Towns,  and  other  objects  of  notice. 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  125 

< 10.  The  use  of  the  Calendar  with  the  Common  Rules 
for  finding  the  course  of  the  Sun,  Moon,  & Tides,  with 
soo  much  of  gunnery  as  is  necessary  for  Sea  Service.’ 

It  is  obvious  that  this  second  schedule  means  a consider- 
able advance  in  the  boys’  studies  on  the  side  of  practical 
navigation.  The  only  difficulty  was  pointed  out  by 
Isaac  Newton,  that  the  two  years  prescribed  for  it  made 
thoroughness  almost  impossible,  and  he  expressed  his  regret 
that  under  these  circumstances  “ four  or  five  yeares  of  the 
children’s  time  ” should  be  given  to  the  learning  of  Latin. 
This  effort  to  maintain  the  classical  standard  of  the 
“ Mathemats  ” has  already  been  referred  to,  and  it  was 
clearly  not  relaxed  at  the  period  with  which  we  are  dealing, 
as  several  items  on  the  minutes  go  to  show.  It  was  agreed 
(January  29th,  1689)  “that  pursuant  to  the  direction  of  Mr 
John  Flamsteed,  a member  of  this  House,  each  boy  in  the 
Mathematicall  Schoole,  or  in  the  Writing  Schoole  preparing 
for  the  Mathematicall  Schoole,  shall  have  a Latine  Testament 
of  Bezell’s  [Beza’s]  Translation,  for  the  better  preserving  of 
their  Latine,  when  they  are  out  of  the  Gramar  Schoole.” 
Possibly  the  young  “ salts  ” were  not  quite  as  diligent  in 
their  reading  of  Holy  Writ  as  the  Committee  hoped  ; for 
there  is  soon  a further  resolution  (February  8th,  1692)  that 
“the  Boyes  in  the  Mathematicall  Schoole  from  time  to  time 
shall  have  Lattine  Common  Prayer  bookes  to  make  use 
of  at  Church  for  preservation  of  their  Lattine.”  But  it  is 
possible  that  Newton’s  advice  had  some  effect  later.  In 
1708  the  Hospital  made  its  appearance  as  a book-publisher. 
A few  years  earlier  a certain  Mr.  Edward  Brewster  had 
“bought  and  given  to  the  use  of  the  Hospitall”  a book 
called  Synopsis  Algebraica.  The  “ first  impression  ” was 
reported  to  be  “ now  almost  spent,”  and  the  Committee 
ordered  Mr.  Newton  (i.e.  Samuel  Newton)  and  Mr.  Ditton, 
the  master  of  the  New  Mathematical  School,  which  had 
been  added  to  the  original  foundation  by  means  of 
Mr.  Stone’s  gift,  to  revise  and  correct  the  book,  and 

translate  it  into  English , in  order  to  have  the  same  re- 
printed and  made  of  more  generall  and  publick  use.”  It 


126  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


was  hoped  (June  9th,  1708)  that  “the  advantage  arising 
therefrom  may  defray  the  charge  of  the  impression.”  The 
Committee  ordered  750  copies  in  Latin  and  1,000  in  English, 
Samuel  Cobb,  the  under  grammar  master,  receiving  “ 10 
guinneys”  for  his  translation,  and  it  was  arranged  to  sell 
the  books  to  three  specified  booksellers  at  half  a crown  a 
copy  “in  sheets.”  It  is  a sign  not  only  of  their  prudence 
but  of  a relaxation  of  their  classical  zeal. 

On  the  whole,  then,  it  is  clear  that  King  Charles’ 
Foundation  for  its  first  thirty  or  forty  years  had  a some- 
what chequered  success.  It  produced  a number  of  “skilful 
and  knowing  marriners  ” (the  phrase  is  Pagett’s),  but  it 
did  not  add  greatly  to  the  personnel  of  the  Royal  Navy. 
When  Mr.  Commissioner  Pett  wrote  in  1695  from  “ the 
Navy  Office”  to  inquire  about  “such  children  of  the  Royal 
Foundation  in  Christ’s  Hospitall  that  has  attained  to  any 
charge  (either  of  Comander  or  Leiv1- Master  or  otherr 
Commission  or  Warrant  Officer)  in  his  Maties  Navy,”  Mr. 
Parrey  was  ordered  to  draw  up  a “ satisfactory  answer.” 
But  he  could  not  make  bricks  without  straw,  and,  when 
his  report  was  presented,  it  was  not  “ soe  satisfactory  as 
the  Comee  expects,”  so  they  “ordered  him  to  informe  him- 
self further.”  The  fact,  of  course,  was  that  the  regulations 
of  the  Letters  Patent,  while  good  enough  in  themselves, 
were  often  a hindrance  to  the  obtaining  of  useful  employ- 
ment for  the  King’s  boys.  Thus  in  1692  the  Lords  of 

the  Admiralty  applied  for  some  of  them  to  be  bound 
apprentices  to  “ Mr  Dummer,  Master  Builder  of  the  King’s 
Yard  at  Woolwich,”  and  were  told  that  the  “ Letters  Patent 
forbid  it  to  any  but  Comanders  of  Ships.” 

The  inefficiency  of  the  early  teachers  of  the  “ Mathemats  ” 
was  redeemed  by  one  famous  appointment  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  had  been  mathematicians. 
William  Wales  was  a sailor  as  well  as  a mathematician,  and 
to  the  ordinary  observer  the  sailor  in  him  was  the  more 
obvious  of  the  two.  “All  his  systems,”  says  Lamb,  whose 
school  days  fell  during  the  Wales  regime  (1775-98),  “were 
adapted  to  fit  them  for  the  rough  element  which  they  were 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  127 

destined  to  encounter.  . . . To  make  his  boys  hardy,  and  to 
give  them  early  sailor  habits,  seemed  to  be  his  only  aim  ; 
and  to  do  this  everything  was  subordinate.”  Which  indeed 
does  the  man  much  less  than  justice.  For  Wales’  sea-going 
had  been  in  a scientific  direction.  He  had  been  sent  by 
the  Royal  Society  to  the  Arctic  Regions  to  observe  a transit 
of  Venus  in  1769  and  he  had  sailed  the  Southern  Seas  with 
Captain  Cook.  And  a minute  of  1786  shows  that  he  was 
impatient  of  anything  in  his  department  that  was  needlessly 
antiquated.  “Several  of  the  Books  and  Charts,  given  to 
the  R.M.S.  Boys  at  their  going  out,”  he  told  the  Governors, 
“are  useless  on  account  of  the  great  Improvements  in  the 
Practice  of  Navigation.”  “The  Quadrants  and  other  In- 
struments given  to  them  are  of  the  most  ordinary  kind.” 
At  his  instigation  “ La  Caille’s  Astronomy , Atkinson’s 
Epitome  of  Navigation , the  Sea  Gunner s Companion,  the 
Variation  Chart,  and  the  twelve-leav’d  Book  of  Charts”  were 
discontinued,  and  the  “ Price  thereof,  being  about  twenty-one 
shillings,”  was  added  to  the  value  of  the  quadrant  and  other 
instruments. 

In  regard  to  the  relations  between  the  boys  and  ships’ 
captains,  the  Governors  must  be  given  credit  for  endeavouring 
to  prevent  abuses  of  various  sorts.  In  1719  they  found  that 
“ Mathemats  ” were  promising  themselves  to  serve  com- 
manders “without  the  privity  or  consent  of  the  Treasurer,” 
which  “ not  only  tends  greatly  to  the  Corruption  of  the  Boys, 
but  is  a manifest  contempt  of  the  Government  of  the  House.” 
They  therefore  ordered  that  “ for  the  future  the  Master  of 
the  Royal  Math1  School  shall  not  permitt  any  Governor 
Capt  or  Comander  of  any  ship,  or  any  other  on  their  Behalfe, 
to  come  into  his  School  to  contract  or  agree  with  any  of 
his  Boys,”  without  first  consulting  the  Treasurer.  At  the 
same  time  the  commanders  were  told  not  to  give  “encourage- 
ment to  any  boy  ...  to  come  on  board  [their]  ship  or 
Vessell  on  pretence  of  seeing  his  schoolfellows.”  Again,  the 
Governors  endeavoured  to  secure  for  the  boys  such  ships 
as  would  give  them  a satisfactory  training ; for  example, 
it  was  found  in  1735  that  the  “Mathemats”  were  being 


128  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

“ inveagled  ” on  to  “ small  coasting  vessels  and  Store  Ships  of 
120  or  130  Tons,”  and  so  were  “very  often  ill  provided  for”  ; 
whereupon  it  was  agreed,  though  the  rule  was  not  universally 
kept,  that  200  Tons’  burden  should  be  the  lowest  limit. 
A still  more  serious  evil  came  to  the  Governors’  notice  in 
1770.  “Great  misfortunes,”  they  found,  “have  happen’d 
to  several  Boys,  apprentices  to  Commanders  of  Guardships 
in  the  Royal  Navy,  in  which  service  the  Boys  cannot  be 
improved  in  the  practice  of  Navigation,  and  likewise  not 
being  fully  employ’d  idly  spend  great  part  of  their  time 
on  Shore  in  a seaport-town,  in  which  situation  they  are 
expos’d  to  great  dangers  which  may  unfortunately  occasion 
[their]  ruin.”  So  they  took  the  obvious  remedy  of  forbidding 
any  “Mathemats”  to  be  bound  apprentices  to  port  guardships 
in  future. 

The  greatest  hindrance  to  the  good  reputation  of  the 
“ Mathemats  ” was  not  removed  till  the  nineteenth  century. 
Their  occasionally  riotous  and  always  insolent  behaviour  is 
elsewhere  alluded  to.  It  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  herded  together  in  one  ward.  There  came  a time 
when  only  the  principle  of  “Divide  et  Impera”  could  quell 
them.  The  late  Canon  Buckle  not  long  before  his  death 
was  kind  enough  to  give  me  his  recollections  on  the  subject. 
He  happened  about  1830  to  be  placed  in  “No.  1,”  from 
which  the  unruly  sea-urchins  had  been  recently  expelled. 
“Naturally,”  wrote  Canon  Buckle,  “they  thought  themselves 
fine  fellows,  affected  the  traditionary  bluntness  of  sea 
manners,  and  looked  down  on  the  rest  of  the  school  as 
their  inferiors.”  Rumour  said  that  strange  doings  and  wild 
licence  went  on  in  “No.  1”  ward.  Anyhow  they  were 
“ scattered  ” among  the  rest  of  the  wards.  Canon  Buckle 
added  that  the  Nurse,  “Mother  Robinson,”  a stout  and 
vigorous  old  lady,  preserved  to  the  last  her  regret  for  the 
piping  times,  when  she  had  been  responsible  for  the  Mathe- 
matical crew.  The  “ King’s  School  ” lost  its  unruly  prestige 
after  this  revolutionary  change,  though  “Blues”  still  living 
can  remember  the  ferocious  vigour  with  which  they  went 
round  the  wards  at  certain  seasons,  crying,  “ Who’s  for  the 
Royal  Mathematical  School  ? ” 


Till-:  king’s  foundation 


stone’s  FOUNDATION 


stock’s  foundation 


BADGES 

FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS  I. ENT  BY  “ NAVY  AND  AKRIY  H.I.USTRATED  " 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  129 

But,  considering  how  much  of  the  history  of  the  “ Mathe- 
mats”  belongs  to  the  region  of  the  heroic  and  romantic, 
it  will  be  well  to  drop  suddenly  into  the  indubitable  and  dry- 
as-dust  statements  of  a Royal  Commissioners’  report.  In  the 
fourth  year  of  King  William  IV.  Christ’s  Hospital  saw  the 
first  appointment  of  Charity  Commissioners,  of  whom  two, 
Mr.  Wrottesley  and  Mr.  Smith,  presented  their  report  in  the 
first  year  of  Queen  Victoria,  indeed  ten  days  after  her  acces- 
sion to  the  throne.  They,  of  course,  devote  some  space 
to  King  Charles’  Foundation,  and  this  is  the  gist  of  their 
account.  They  found  the  school  in  February  1837  under 
the  charge  of  “ Mr  Webster,”  who  had  lately  been  promoted 
from  the  Junior  Mathematical  Mastership  in  succession  to 
the  Rev.  G.  J.  Brookes.  “ Webster”  is  still  a name  to  conjure 
with  to  Blues  who  are  now  getting  on  in  life,  and  there  are 
some  who  tell  you  that  the  visions  of  their  head  about  their 
bed  still  trouble  them  the  night  before  the  morning  on  which 
they  used  to  be  “ in  to  Webster.”  The  Commissioners  found 
under  Mr.  Webster  40  “King’s”  or  “Royal”  boys,  and  10 
under  Stone’s  gift ; the  two  places  under  Stock’s  gift  were 
both  vacant,  and  on  the  foundations  of  Travers  and  Holditch 
there  were  only  39  instead  of  50.  They  found  the  custom 
to  be  that  boys  were  admitted  to  the  “ Mathemat  ” from  the 
rest  of  the  school  on  their  own  or  their  parents’  application, 
that  the  limits  of  age  were  eleven  and  twelve  and  a half 
years,  and  that  the  first  step  in  the  sea-going  Blue’s  career 
was  to  join  Mr.  Stone’s  foundation.  At  the  same  time, 
as  certain  special  advantages  were  assured,  it  was  demanded 
that  the  parents  should  enter  a special  bond  with  the  Lord 
Mayor,  as  titular  trustee,  that  the  boy  should  behave  decently 
and  obey  the  rules  of  the  school,  and  that  within  one  month 
after  passing  his  examination  before  the  Master  of  the 
Trinity  House  he  should  be  apprenticed  to  the  Sea-service 
in  some  form  or  other,  as  might  be  agreed  upon  between  the 
ship-master  and  the  Governors.  The  Commissioners  also 
give  details  of  the  studies  pursued  in  the  school.  Thus, 
if  a Stone’s  boy  in  half  a year  worked  his  arithmetical  way 
“ from  the  rule  of  three  to  cube  root  inclusive,”  he  was 


K 


130  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


certain  of  ultimately  becoming  a “King’s  boy”;  otherwise 
he  lost  his  chance.  The  moment  he  had  learnt  some  Euclid 
he  entered  the  magic  circle  of  “the  forty.”  The  books  and 
employments  of  these  latter  are  given  by  the  Commissioners 
in  some  detail.  “ Bonnycastle’s  Algebra,  Bland’s  Equations, 
and  Wood’s  or  Hind’s  Algebra”  ; “plane  trigonometry,  plane 
and  globular  sailing,  spherical  trigonometry,  the  use  of  the 
globes,  problems  on  the  sphere,  and  nautical  astronomy, 
including  the  use  of  the  Nautical  Almanac,  the  quadrant, 
sextant,  and  azimuth  compass,”  for  Lord  Kelvin  was  still 
in  his  earlier  “teens.”  The  class-books  in  geography, 
grammar,  and  general  knowledge  included  “ Simson’s  Euclid, 
a M.S.  plane,  and  a M.S.  spherical  trigonometry,  Robertson’s 
Inman’s,  and  Riddle’s  Treatises  on  Navigation,  Pinnock’s 
Catechism  of  Geography,  Guthrie’s  Grammar  of  Geography, 
Butler’s  Atlas,  Goldsmith’s  Grammar  and  English  History, 
and  Hume’s  History.”  The  “Mathemats”  occupied  a consider- 
able portion  of  the  drawing-master’s  time,  and  apparently 
wanted  more  technical  instruction  than  he  was  able  to  give 
them ; still  they  received  training  in  the  construction  of 
naval  charts,  maps,  and  plans,  the  drawing  of  ships,  head- 
lands, lines  of  coast,  etc.  In  “perspective”  they  had  to  be 
content  with  general  rules.  A “ tolerable  chart  and  black- 
lead  drawing  ” formed  the  limit  with  the  majority,  but  some 
“ attained  sufficient  proficiency  to  enter  upon  water-colours.” 
As  to  the  output  of  boys  at  this  time,  the  Commissioners 
express  it  in  terms  of  twenty  in  each  period  of  two  years, 
an  average  of  five  after  each  half-yearly  examination.  It  is 
noted  also  that  Trinity  House  had  passed  all  the  boys  sent 
up  by  Mr.  Webster.  At  the  same  time,  owing  to  illness  or 
other  causes,  the  number  of  “ King’s  boys  ” sometimes  fell 
short,  and  the  quota  to  be  sent  to  sea  was  made  up  by 
including  youngsters  under  fifteen.  Also  “ the  other  causes  ’ 
must  be  confessed  to  have  included  shuffling,  for,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  Supplementary  Act  of  Charles  II.  allowed  each 
boy  £37  as  wages ; some  of  them  made  sure  of  their 
wages  and  made  flotsam  of  their  work.  It  was  therefore 
arranged  that  one  year’s  instalment  should  be  paid  when 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  131 

the  indentures  were  signed ; the  balance  was  only  given 
when  at  the  end  of  three  years  the  “ Mathemat”  came  back 
with  his  log-book  and  journals,  and  satisfied  the  master  of 
his  knowledge  of  navigation. 

As  to  the  general  success  of  these  lads  the  Commissioners 
are  not  very  enthusiastic.  Many  of  them  had  done  well,  but 
“ many  are  not  so  fortunate  as  to  gain  a situation  worthy 
of  their  attainments  and  the  care  bestowed  on  their  in- 
struction.” It  is  remarkable  and  hardly  complimentary  to 
the  Royal  Foundation  that  the  Crown  had  never  up  to 
1837,  and  still  less  since,  put  in  a claim  to  the  seventh 
year  of  the  “ Mathemats’  ” sea-service,  as  arranged  for  in 
Charles  II.’s  Letters  Patent.  However  hardly  it  might  fall 
on  a ship-master  to  have  his  complement  lessened  by  the 
Admiralty  exercising  their  right,  the  “ King’s  boys  ” would 
certainly  have  benefited  by  such  an  official  acknowledgment 
of  their  existence  and  their  use.  Many  of  the  lads  rose 
to  eminence  in  the  naval  service  of  “John  Company,”  notably 
Captain  Shea,  whose  portrait  hangs  in  the  Court  Room  and 
who  became  a Governor  and  Almoner,  bequeathing  to  the 
Hospital  several  pictures  of  the  person  and  exploits  of  the 
famous  Commodore  Sir  Nathaniel  Dance.  But  the  abolition 
of  the  grade  of  “Master”  in  the  Royal  Navy,  and  the 
expenses  connected  with  cadetships  have  made  it  necessary 
as  a rule  for  “ Blues  ” to  seek  entrance  as  assistant-clerks 
or  engineer-students,  where  they  render  useful  service  but 
stop  short  of  fame.  The  latest  figures  show  that  the  in- 
struction they  receive  has  redeemed  the  discredit  of  the  first 
mathematical  masters.  Thirty-eight  boys  have  entered  the 
Royal  Navy  since  1882.  Of  these,  eight  gained  cadetships, 
nine  qualified  as  engineer  students  and  twenty-one  as  assistant 
clerks.  In  the  same  period  more  than  seventy  have  joined 
the  Merchant  Service,  of  whom  two  have  obtained  com- 
missions in  the  Navy  and  several  are  members  of  the  Royal 
Naval  Reserve. 

The  1890  scheme  of  the  Charity  Commissioners  at  first 
neglected  the  “King’s  School”  altogether.  It  permitted  it  to 
exist  but  made  no  provision  for  filling  it  with  boys.  The 


132  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Commissioners  have  since  been  induced  to  repair  their 
mistake,  and  the  Council  of  Almoners  may  now  assign  forty 
places  in  the  Hospital  to  boys  who  are  the  sons  of  com- 
missioned officers  in  the  Royal  Navy,  the  Royal  Marines,  or 
the  Royal  Naval  Reserve,  whose  services  are  certified  by  the 
Admiralty  to  have  been  satisfactory,  and  such  boys  may 
on  the  application  of  their  parents  enter  the  Royal  Mathema- 
tical School.  The  Almoners  will  naturally  give  a preference 
to  the  sons  of  the  widows  of  such  officers,  if  they  are  in 
straitened  circumstances.  There  is  a further  provision  for 
the  admission  of  the  children  of  those  officers  who  have  been 
“ distinguished  ” in  the  service  of  the  Crown,  but  the  word 
is  taken  to  mean  that  they  must  have  been  at  least  “men- 
tioned in  despatches.” 

This  chapter  began  by  noticing  that  the  difference  between 
a “Mathemat”  and  the  ordinary  “Blue”  lies  in  the  badge. 
But  there  are  differences  of  badges  yet  to  be  noticed.  The 
40  “ King’s  boys  ” wear  a disc,  bearing,  as  already  stated, 
the  loyal  if  not  wholly  merited  legend  “Auspicio  Carol i 
Secundi  Regis.”  It  shows  a miniature  “Mathemat”  sur- 
rounded by  the  three  graces  of  Arithmetic,  Astronomy,  and 
Geometry,  with  a ship  under  full  sail  and  two  little  cherubs 
who  “ sit  up  aloft.”  Other  foundations  were  “ grafted  ” on  to 
King  Charles’  “stock.”  Henry  Stone’s,  whose  constitution 
gave  such  trouble  to  Mr.  Pepys,  was  marked  by  a badge 
bearing  his  name  and  the  legend,  “Numero,  Pondere  et 
Mensura,”  and  three  boys  at  a table  with  a figured  scroll, 
a balance,  and  a compass.  The  Governors  in  1716  expressed 
their  thanks  to  Sir  Isaac  Newton  for  giving  this  “dye.”  The 
one  boy  endowed  in  1722  by  Viscount  Lanesborough  was 
not  distinguished  by  any  badge.  The  contemporary  founda- 
tion of  Mr.  Samuel  Travers  has  been  distinguished  not  by 
a badge  but  by  a buckle,  but  since  1815  the  benefits  of 
Travers’  gift  have  been  separated  from  the  Royal  Mathe- 
matical School  and  devoted  to  the  purpose  of  teaching 
mathematics  to  the  boys  of  the  Upper  Grammar  School. 
A third  badge,  whose  use  has  almost  lapsed,  belonged  to  two 
boys  nominated  by  the  Admiralty  in  accordance  with  the 


THE  MATHEMATICAL  SCHOOL  133 

bequest  in  1782  of  Mr.  John  Stock.  It  bore  the  figure  of 
Britannia  with  an  anchor,  ships,  merchandise,  and  the  legend 
“ Prosperitas  Navibus  Magnae  Britanniae.” 

These  badges  were  at  first  made  of  silver.  The  boys  had 
to  wear  them  not  only  at  school  but  during  their  apprentice- 
ship, and  they  were  a potent  charm  against  the  blandishments 
of  the  press-gang.  But,  as  gently  hinted  elsewhere,  they 
were  a source  of  temptation,  seeing  that  they  could  be  left 
with  an  “ uncle  ” for  five  shillings,  and  copper  was  ultimately 
substituted  for  silver.  It  was,  however,  the  custom  until  quite 
recently  to  present  a “Mathemat”  on  leaving  with  a badge  in 
silver. 

One  other  matter  connected  with  the  King’s  Foundation 
must  not  be  omitted,  namely  their  once  regular  appearance 
before  the  Sovereign  to  show  themselves,  their  charts  and 
drawings.  It  is  probable  that  the  subject  of  Verrio’s  great 
canvas  in  the  Hall  is  a combination  of  two  events,  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  Charter  by  Charles  II.  and  this  annual 
appearance  of  the  “ Mathemats  ” at  Court.  The  idea  both 
of  the  picture  and  of  the  “ going  to  Court  ” was  doubtless 
due  to  Pepys ; for  it  was  announced  to  the  Committee  in 
1681  that  “Esq  Pepys”  had  “spoken  with  Seignior  Vario, 
Painter,”  who  was  “ preparing  a model  ” and  would  “ present 
the  draught  thereof.”  And  among  Pepys’  correspondence  is 
a letter  dated  February  17th,  1682,  in  which  he  writes  to 
Alderman  Sir  Thomas  Beckford,  asking  for  the  loan  of  his 
gown  “for  Signior  Vario,  the  King’s  painter,  to  make  use 
of  in  the  picture.”  Charles  was  nothing  loth  to  have  his 
own  foundation  brought  yearly  to  his  notice,  and  the  cere- 
mony was  associated  with  New  Year’s  Day.  The  following 
minute  of  December  1682  will  show  the  procedure : that 
“a  list  of  the  Mathematical  children  be  presented  to  his 
gracious  Matlc  the  Ist  day  of  January  next  according  to 
former  usage — alsoe  that  another  be  presented  to  His  Royal 
Higness  James  Duke  of  Yorke  ...”  that  “all  the  Committee 
should  be  summoned  to  appeare  the  same  day  in  their  gowns 
at  Whitehall,  not  only  to  deliver  the  said  lists  but  also  to 
show  the  Forty  children  now  of  his  Matiea  Royall  Foundation 


134  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

to  his  gracious  Matie  and  the  Duke  of  Yorke.”  They  also 
requested  the  Lord  Mayor  to  be  present  “if  his  ocoasions 
will  give  him  leave.”  In  1687  the  lists  were  written  and 
“painted”  at  a cost  of  £7,  and  in  December  1690  Pagett, 
the  Master,  got  into  disgrace  for  not  having  “ made  prepara- 
tion for  the  boyes  to  make  exercises  being  draughts  of  Charts 
and  Landskips  &c  against  New  Yeares  Day.”  He  replied 
that  he  had  not  been  paid  for  it,  and  was  consoled  with  “ 25 
guyneys.”  The  date  of  this  incident  implies  that  William  III. 
had  continued  the  custom  of  his  predecessors,  and  had  there- 
fore shown  that  in  November  1688  the  Committee  need  not 
have  hesitated  as  to  whether  they  had  better  wait  upon  him. 
The  “neglect  of  their  duty”  recorded  against  two  beadles 
in  January  1725  is  noted  in  a connexion  which  shows  that 
“ going  to  Court  ” was  not  all  that  was  expected  of  the  King’s 
boys ; for  these  beadles  did  not  attend  “ in  due  time  when 
[the  Governors]  waited  upon  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty 
wth  the  Boys  of  the  Royall  Mathematicall  School,  by  reason 
whereof  they  could  not  pay  the  usuall  respect  to  their  Lord- 
ships  by  presenting  them  with  the  Books  of  the  names  of 
the  boys.”  This  visit  to  “ My  Lords  ” may  also  have  been 
instigated  by  Mr.  Pepys,  but  there  is  no  record  of  its  long 
continuance.  But  “going  to  Court” — save  during  the  later 
years  of  Queen  Victoria’s  lifetime — has  been  perpetual,  and 
will  no  doubt  be  resumed  under  his  present  Majesty. 

Note. — Verrio’s  picture  was  not  completed  till  1690.  The  price 
was  settled  in  November  1684,  when  he  told  the  Committee  “he 
would  doe  it  soe  well  that,  if  any  artist  that  should  see  it  did  not 
say  it  was  worth  one  thousand  pounds,  he  would  give  the  poore  of 
this  Hospital  one  hundred  pounds,”  and,  being  pressed  “to  express 
himself  more  plainely,  he  agreed  to  ^300  by  instalments.  In 
February  1685  he  “proposed  to  make  some  alteration  of  the  said 
designe  in  regard  his  Matie  King  Charles  the  Second  of  blessed 
memory  is  lately  deceased.”  Mr.  C.  W.  Carey,  who  is  now  bringing 
the  canvas  back  from  its  varnished  obscurity,  believes  that  the 
central  figure  is  James  II.  This  may,  of  course,  be  Verrio’s 
intended  “alteration,”  but  in  1687  the  minutes  still  speak  of  it 
as  “ his  late  Matie“  picture.” 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  MUSIC  SCHOOL 

“ Seraphs  ! around  th’  Eternal’s  seat  who  throng 
With  tuneful  ecstasies  of  praise  : 

Oh  ! teach  our  feeble  tongues  like  yours  the  song 
Of  fervent  gratitude  to  raise.” 

Coleridge,  C.  H.  Easter  Anthem,  1789. 

THE  teaching  of  music  at  our  Hospital  began  with  its 
earliest  times  and  has  never  ceased.  It  is  true  that 
music  as  a profession  was  not  always  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  within  our  walls,  for  in  1569  it  was  “agrede  by  the 
consent  of  this  courte  that  from  henceforthe  none  of  the 
children  harbored  and  kept  in  this  Hospitall  be  put  apprentis 
to  any  Musissioner  othere  than  suche  as  be  blinde  or  Lame 
and  not  able  to  be  put  to  other  Trades.”  Still,  as  has  been 
already  recorded,  John  Howes  states  definitely  that  among 
the  first  set  of  officers  and  masters  chosen  there  was  “ a 
schoole-maister  for  Musicke,”  further  described  as  “ a teacher 
of  pricksonge  whose  yerely  fee  was  £2. 13.4.”  But  Howes 
does  not  give  his  name,  as  he  does  in  other  cases,  and  in  the 
first  batch  of  payments  to  the  staff  in  the  Annual  Account 
of  1553  no  separate  mention  is  made  of  the  Music  Master. 
The  natural  inference  is  that,  as  John  Watson,  the  Clerk,  also 
taught  writing,  so  some  other  master  doubled  the  part  of 
“song  school”  teacher.  Unfortunately,  after  giving  the 
names  of  the  staff  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  payment, 
the  Annual  Account  henceforth  contents  itself  with  a state- 
ment of  the  total  sum  distributed  to  them  each  pay-day,  but 
from  other  entries  half  a century  later  it  is  fairly  clear  that 
the  succession  had  been  maintained.  Robert  Dow  in  his 
indenture,  of  which  an  account  will  be  given  directly,  lays 

1 35 


1 36  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


the  credit  for  the  Music  teaching  at  the  door  of  Mr.  Edmond 
Howes  “by  reason  of  his  singular  zeal  and  integrity  to 
Christ’s  Hospital.”  This  Edmond  Howes  was  joint-tenant 
with  his  father,  John  Howes,  of  “a  tenement  at  the  West 
gate  of  this  Hospitall,”  and  was  baptised  at  Christ  Church 
on  July  19th,  1562;  so  that  he  can  only  be  associated  with 
the  subsequent  revival  of  interest  in  the  Music  School,  which 
characterised  the  first  years  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  Court  Book  shows  that  singing  masters  were  then 
appointed  as  a matter  of  course.  Thus  in  March  1606 
“there  is  graunted  to  one  William  Meacocke  one  of  the 
singing  men  in  Christ  Church  the  yearely  stipend  of  xl8  for 
ye  instructing  of  diverse  of  ye  children  of  this  house  in  the 
art  of  Musick  as  Robart  Browne  late  Blinde  (?)  dec'1  injoyed.” 
But  in  a few  months  Meacocke  was  promoted  to  the  Cathedral 
choir  and  then  (June  10th,  1607)  appeared  “John  ffarrand, 
Clarke  of  Great  St.  Bartholomewes  neere  to  West  Smithfield, 
being  a suiter  for  the  instructinge  and  teachinge  of  the  Children 
of  this  house  in  the  arte  of  Musicke,  for  that  there  is  one 
Wm  Meacocke  one  of  the  Singinge  men  of  Paulis  who  should 
performe  ye  same,  but  dooth  neglecte  his  dutye  therein.”  In 
the  end  Meacocke  was  “utterly  discharged”  and  Farrant 
began  a long  connexion  with  the  music  of  the  Hospital  at 
the  same  salary  “ as  ye  sayd  Meacocke  and  others  in  like 
manner  before  him  did  receiue.”  Farrant  was,  it  would  seem, 
a far  greater  success  than  his  predecessors,  at  any  rate  during 
the  earlier  years  of  his  work.  At  the  end  of  eighteen  months 
he  applied  for  “ a rise,”  and  his  salary  was  promptly  doubled, 
with  this  proviso  that  he  “ shall  alwayes  instruct  eight  of  ye 
children  of  this  house  in  Musicke  and  shall  accompany  ye 
children  of  this  house  to  ye  Burials*  of  all  such  persons  where- 
unto  ye  children  of  this  house  shall  be  required.” 

It  is  at  this  point  that  we  are  introduced  to  Mr.  Robert 
Dow  (or  Dowe).  He  was  keenly  interested  in  the  Singing 
School,  and  he  determined  to  do  for  it  what  Lady  Ramsey 
had  done  for  the  WViting,  and  what  Thomas  Barnes  and 
Richard  Aldworth  would  later  on  do  for  the  Reading  and 

* See  below,  p.  228. 


THE  WRITING  MASTER'S  (NOW  THE  WARDEN’S)  HOUSE 


THE  MUSIC  SCHOOL  137 

the  Mathematical  Schools.  His  proposal  is  set  forth  in  an 
indenture  dated  February  8th,  1609.  After  reciting  that  the 
Governors  of  the  Hospital,  “being  desirous  that  the  poor 
children  of  the  said  House  might  be  instructed  ...  in  the 
knowledge  of  pricksongs  have  lately  entertained  one  John 
Farrant,  being  learned  in  music,  for  that  purpose,  and  have 
agreed  to  allow  him  yearly  the  sum  of  foure  pounds,”  it 
states  that  Dow  felt  the  sum  to  be  very  small ; therefore, 
“ having  a pityful  commiseration  of  the  poor  children,  and 
to  the  intent  to  encourage  skilful  teachers  to  do  their  best 
endeavour  in  the  instructing”  them  “in  the  Heavenly  Science 
of  Music,”  he  was  willing,  for  God’s  service  and  their  advance- 
ment, to  add  ^12  a year  to  the  music  master’s  stipend,  and 
hoped  “ that  God  will  put  in  the  heart  of  some  good  man  ” 
to  make  the  £\6  up  to  £20.  The  covenant  thereupon 
entered  into  bound  the  governing  body,  after  Farrant’s 
death,  to  “ provide  one  sufficient  man  skilful  in  Music,  being 
a Bachelor  or  Widower  without  children,  for  avoiding  of 
charge  to  the  hospital,  and  not  being  any  vicar,  petty  canon, 
nor  clerk  or  sexton  of  any  church,  nor  holding  any  other 
temporal  office.”  This  master,  he  goes  on,  is  to  “ teach  the 
art  of  music  to  10  or  12  only  of  the  said  children,”  and  to 
“ train  them  up  in  the  knowledge  of  prickesong,”  and  teach 
them  “ to  write  and  make  them  able  to  sing  in  the  Quier 
of  Christ  Church.”  They  are  to  attend  there  “every  Sunday 
and  every  holyday  and  their  vigils.”  In  choosing  his 
scholars,  the  master  may  pick  from  “ all  the  schools  and 
offices  ” of  the  hospital,  “ except  only  out  of  the  Compting 
House,  Ward-robe,  and  Grammar-school,”  in  regard  to  which 
permission  must  be  obtained.  “ And  whereas  the  children 
in  general  go  to  burials,”  one  half  of  the  singing  children, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  master,  must  be  left  behind,  that  his 
school  may  not  be  empty,  “ unless  it  be  a special  or  double 
burial.”  The  singing-master  must  teach  the  singing-children 
their  catechism.  They  shall  always  be  at  his  command, 
lodging  in  “ the  high  ward,”  while  the  master  occupied 
specified  apartments  under  the  Counting  House,  together 
with  a small  garden.  The  singing-children  are  to  go  before 


13B  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

the  President  and  Governors  half-yearly,  that  they  may  “see 
and  hear  how  far  ” they  “ have  profitted.”  “ For  ever,”  he 
goes  on,  “ against  the  Nativity  of  our  Saviour,”  six  shillings 
and  eightpence  must  be  yearly  spent  in  gloves;  “that  is  to 
say  twelve  pair  of  gloves  for  the  poor  Singing  Children 
of  sixpence  a pair,”  and  one  pair  “of  Eightpence”  for  their 
master.  Moreover,  if  any  of  these  various  conditions  should 
fail  to  be  observed,  the  Governors  are  to  hand  over  the 
whole  endowment  to  the  Merchant  Taylors’  Company  for 
their  almshouses. 

In  1611  Dow  indented  a further  deed,  increasing  the 
master’s  salary  to  £ 20  and  directing  that,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  increase,  he  should  teach  “ three  or  four  ” of 
the  dozen  children  “ to  play  upon  an  instrument,  as  upon 
the  Virginalls  or  Violl,  but  especially  upon  the  Virginalls, 
thereby  to  adorne  their  voice  and  make  them  worthy  members 
both  for  the  Church  and  the  Commonweale  ” ; and  “ for  the 
better  furtherance  thereof  the  said  Robert  Dow  hath  provided 
and  bought  two  pair  of  Virginalls  and  a Bass-Violl  and  hath 
set  them  up  within  the  School-house.”  John  Farrant  him- 
self had  not  been  idle,  but  “sithence  his  coming  to  that 
place  hath  pricked  divers  services  very  fit  for  the  Quire  at 
Christ  Church  into  eight  several  books  together  with  an 
Organ  Book.”  Dow  paid  him  £5  for  these,  and  the 
total  cost  of  the  “Virginalls  Violls  and  Books  &c.”  was 
“ ten  pounds  six  shillings  and  sixpence.  And  more  thirteen 
shillings  and  fourpence  for  mending  and  tuning  the  Organs 
in  Christ  Church.”  The  singing-master  was  also  to  be 
present  morning  and  afternoon  in  Christ  Church,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  sermons  “usually  preached  in  the  Upper  Church” 
was  to  play  the  Psalms  sung  by  the  people,  “ thereby  to  keep 
them  in  time  and  tune  to  the  better  setting  forth  of  the 
praise  of  almighty  God.” 

In  addition  to  the  £240,  Dow  offered  ,£72  for  the  up-keep 
of  the  instruments  he  had  provided ; and  the  Governors 
were  inclined  to  think  this  sum  “somewhat  to  small  con- 
sidering that  this  house  must  at  all  times  hereafter  for  Ever 
repaire  and  maintaine  the  said  instrument.”  They  bluntly 


THE  MUSIC  SCHOOL 


i39 


suggested  that  Dow  should  make  it  £80,  which  he  promptly 
agreed  to  do,  and  thus  the  Music  School  obtained  a fresh 
lease  of  life  on  most  favourable  terms.  But,  alas!  in  1613 
John  Farrant,  whose  advance  from  a salary  of  ^4  a year 
to  one  of  £ 20  had  perhaps  been  too  much  for  him,  fell 
under  the  grievous  displeasure  of  the  vicar  of  Christ  Church, 
Mr.  Marshall,  who  came  with  his  curate  and  his  “clarke” 
to  make  “ diverse  complaintes  of  ye  ill  caryage  and  behavior  ” 
of  the  Music  Master,  of  his  “ neglecte  of  his  dutie  in  not 
singing  in  y°  church  as  he  ought  to  doe,”  and  even  of  his 
“ outragious  dealinge  and  misdemeanours  in  ye  Church.” 
The  vicar  was  willing  to  have  overlooked  all  this,  “ so  as 
hee  would  have  submitted  himselfe  and  have  binne  sorry.” 
But  Farrant  refused  to  apologise,  and  so  the  Committee 
had  to  deal  with  it.  To  the  vicar’s  indictment  they  added 
the  statement  that  the  music  master  “hath  demeaned 
himself  very  badly  towards  ye  Government  of  this  house, 
abusing  ye  Gouernours.”  So  poor  Farrant  ate  very  humble 
pie  indeed,  and  was  forgiven,  as  most  of  the  Hospital’s 
servants  have  been, — till  next  time.  Probably,  though  an 
awkward  customer,  he  was  a fair  musician  and  teacher. 
But  his  “ next  time  ” soon  came,  and  was  sooner  repeated. 
In  January  1616  he  sent  a message  to  say  that  he  was 
“arrested  for  debte”  and  was  “in  ye  Compter  in  Wood 
Street  ” ; in  fact,  he  wanted  to  resign  his  office,  not  because 
of  his  debts,  but  “ in  regard  hee  is  very  hard  of  hearing 
and  his  sight  doth  decay  and  his  whole  body  is  so  weake 
and  feeble.”  Yet  he  still  held  on,  and  in  November  was 
quarrelling  with  the  system  by  which  certain  boys  were 
appointed  to  learn  to  play  the  organ  in  Christ  Church, 
according  to  the  will  of  Mr.  William  Parker.  But  two 
years  more  were  enough  for  him,  and  in  January  1618  he 
resigned.  The  arrangement  made  with  him  appears 
generous  enough  to  warrant  the  idea  that  he  had  really 
done  good  service.  The  Governors  “ graunted  him  during 
his  life  in  regard  of  his  paines  taken  eleaven  pounds  pr.  ann. 
and  fourtie  shillings  for  provision  of  wood  and  coles.  All 
which  being  thirteen  pounds  is  to  bee  paid  by’  five  shillings 


Ho  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

weekly;  and  likewise  for  his  lodging  that  he  should  have 
a little  room  joyning  yc  ICitchin,  and  yv  Kitchin  itselfe  to 
dresse  his  meate  during  his  life.  And  a way  to  be  made 
to  ye  same  thorough  ye  garden.”  No  wonder  that  Farrant 
took  quite  a fresh  lease  of  life.  His  interest  in  his 
office  remained  meanwhile  as  keen  as  ever.  I find  in  the 
minutes  of  the  vestries  of  Christ  Church  a “Memorandum 
that  Mr  John  ffarrant  did  deliver  to  us  David  Buckley 
Churchwarden  and  William  Wyles  Clarke  for  the  use  of 
Christ  Church  as  a Gifte  given  Eight  Synginge  Books  and 
an  Organ  Booke  bound  in  Parchment  and  a blacke  Boxe 
to  put  them  in  the  ffirst  daye  of  October  1622.”  His 
successor,  Ravenscroft,  came  and  went,  and  yet  another, 
Thomas  Peirce  (or  Pierce);  but  his  conduct  roused  Farrant’s 
wrath,  so  that  he  went  to  the  Court  and  complained  that 
Peirce  does  not  “holy  and  solely  apply  himselfe  in  the 
instructing  of  the  children,”  but  “ hath  another  place  in 
the  King’s  Chappell,”  and,  still  worse,  is  married,  which 
was  the  very  catastrophe  that  Robert  Dow  wanted  to  avert 
from  all  his  “song  schoole  maisters.”  So  Farrant,  after 
seven  years’  retirement  on  account  of  old  age,  clamoured 
to  be  taken  on  again,  and  as  the  Court  had  to  confess 
that  his  teaching  had  been  better  than  that  of  any  of  his 
successors,  he  got  his  way.  Peirce  and  he,  according  to 
the  Treasurer’s  compromise,  were  to  divide  the  hours  of 
teaching  till  Lady  Day  1625,  in  order  that  the  children 
might  be  “ perfect  for  the  singing  of  the  Psalme  at  Easter.” 
Thereafter,  Farrant  once  more  ruled  alone,  except  perhaps 
in  his  own  house,  where  “ some  difference  hapned  ” between 
him  and  his  wife,  and  he  lasted  for  another  nine  years. 
In  March  1634  he  is  described  as  an  “aged  maister,”  too 
“ sicke  and  weake  ” to  select  his  substitute,  yet  not  so 
thoughtless  as  to  pass  him  on  any  of  his  salary,  and  about 
December  1634  he  died,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  Humphry 
Sempar,  who  had  done  his  work,  and  who  succeeded  to  his 
post.  Then,  for  a while,  the  Song  School  did  nothing  to 
add  to  the  Court’s  business,  till  the  days  of  Richard  Watkins, 
one  of  the  bullies  with  whom  periodically  every  governing 


I-HOTOUKAFM  BY  THE  REV.  D.  F.  HEYIVOOD 


THE  MUSIC  SCHOOL  141 

body  has  to  deal.  “ We  finde,”  they  said  in  1638,  that 
the  print  of  his  ffingers  hath  bene  seene  on  one  of  the 
childrens  cheeks,”  and  “that  he  hath  beaten  another  child 
with  a road  ouer  the  face.”  His  dismissal  was  deferred, 
but  he  took  to  the  use  of  “roapes”  and  “ Crabstickes,” 
not  to  speak  of  his  boots,  till  on  June  15th  came  the  terrible 
news  that  a child  “ lyeth  sicke  of  the  small-pox  in  the  sick 
ward,”  who  “ is  conceived  to  have  fallen  into  the  sicknes 
with  his  [the  master’s]  misusage  and  in  greate  dainger  of 
death.”  Then,  not  too  soon,  Richard  Watkins  was  allowed 
to  resign. 

The  only  topic  of  interest  in  regard  to  Thomas  Brewer, 
who  came  after  him,  was  that  he  was  “ sometimes  a child 
of  this  house,”  and  probably  had  learnt  music  in  Robert 
Dow’s  foundation.  But  he,  too,  married  a wife,  and 
“ comitted  some  errors  and  alsoe  misdemeanours  himselfe  ” ; 
so  he  was  told  that  he  must  leave  at  Christmas  (1641),  and 
that  his  wife  must  be  out  of  the  premises  before  Michaelmas. 
In  after  years  the  Governors  provided  against  any  such 
matrimonial  complications  by  compelling  the  Song  School 
Master  to  give  a bond  in  £ 200  “ that  when  it  is  proved 
that  he  is  married  he  shall  resigne  up  the  said  office.” 

In  Dow’s  covenant  there  is  a characteristic  provision  that 
the  singing-master  may  have  eight  or  ten  pupils  “ not  of  the 
Hospital,”  in  order  “to  do  the  better  in  his  place  and  to 
increase  his  profit,  like  is  used  and  accustomed  with  the 
Grammar  Teachers  and  other  Schoolmasters  of  the  said 
house.”  But,  even  with  this  permission,  it  can  hardly  be  said 
that  the  Music  Master  was  overworked  ; indeed,  nothing  but 
capable  and  enthusiastic  teachers  was  needed  to  produce 
in  the  Hospital  an  effective  and  creative  musical  life.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  this  was  at  all  realised.  The  Governors 
did  their  part  in  providing  the  plant.  Besides  the  organ 
in  Christ  Church,  to  which  the  Music  Master  had  access, 
there  was  also  an  organ  in  the  Hall  as  early  as  1673  ; for 
in  that  year  (September  16th)  “ Mr  White  Organ  maker  . . . 
did  desire  that  he  might  have  the  monies  due  to  Mr  Dallum 
who  made  the  Organ  in  the  greate  Hall,”  and  had  since 


142  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


died.  In  1690  this  organ  wanted  attention,  and  the  Treasurer 
was  asked  to  treat  with  “ Mr  Harris  ” with  a view  to  his 
cleaning  it  and  taking  it  in  charge.  Clearly  this  was  the 
great  Renatus  Harris,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  received 
a commision  (of  laughable  consequences)  to  build  an  organ 
for  the  new  St.  Paul’s  and  who  also  was  responsible  for 
the  instrument  in  Christ  Church.  Again,  in  1695,  Harris 
reported  on  the  Hall  organ  and  drew  special  attention  to  the 
abundance  of  dust  and  “ the  soe  frequent  raising  of  it  by  the 
almost  continuall  concourse  of  the  children.”  It  would  cost, 
he  said,  quite  £30  to  clean  it.  But  he  could  not  resist  the 
chance  of  a thrust  at  another  builder.  “ Its  pitch,”  he  argued, 
“ is  so  sharp  and  so  much  above  the  reach  of  the  children’s 
voices  that  it  causes  in  them  an  unnaturall  squeeling,  when- 
ever they  endeavour  to  reach  a high  note.”  The  children 
could  not  play  it  because  its  “ touch  is  soe  stiff  and  uneven,” 
nor  could  the  Music  Master,  Mr.  Browne,  for  that  reason 
exhibit  “ that  Mastry  and  ffreedome  that  might  otherwise 
be  expected  from  him.”  Renatus  was  willing  to  put  all 
this  right  for  £25,  and  professed  that  he  would  not  do  it 
“ in  any  Cathedral  or  Parish  Church  in  England  under  the 
summe  of  one  hundred  pound  ” ; but  he  wanted  thus  to 
show  his  “ great  affection  and  respect  ” for  the  foundation. 
This  work  he  carried  out,  and  Mr.  Gerhard  Disseneer,  organist 
of  St.  Giles’  in  the  Fields,  having  reported  favourably  upon  it, 
the  money  was  paid.  This  was  in  July  1696,  but  Harris  was 
not  yet  content.  The  Music  Master  had  long  wanted  what 
the  Minutes  call  a “ Chaire-Organ  ” ; he  had  consulted 
“ Mr  Christian  Smith  an  organ  maker”  about  it  in  1693, 
but  it  was  Harris  to  whom  the  work  fell  in  1697,  and  over 
this  choir  organ  he  quarrelled  almost  as  hotly  as  he  had 
with  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  St.  Paul’s.  For  it  was  re- 
ported to  the  Committee  in  July  that  he  “hath  by  some 
means  or  other  made  the  said  organ  useless,  upon  account 
of  some  money  remaining  due  to  him  ; whereupon  the 
Committee  told  him  that  “if  he  did  not  forthwith  cause 
the  said  organ  to  be  made  usefull,”  or  take  it  away  alto- 
gether and  return  the  money,  they  would  go  to  law.  Hairis 


THE  MUSIC  SCHOOL  143 

“seemed  to  be  somewhat  surprised, ” and  had  the  sense  to 
take  what  he  could  get  for  his  work. 

That  the  Governors  were  determined  to  have  something 
more  than  what  they  called  a Song  School  is  shown  by  their 
anxiety  to  have  Mr.  Parker’s  bequest  for  organ  teaching 
faithfully  carried  out,  a matter  to  which  their  attention 
was  frequently  directed  by  the  parish  of  Christ  Church,  as 
the  following  extract  from  the  parochial  records  will  testify  : — 

‘ At  a Vestrie  houlden  the  XVIIIth  day  of  January  Anno 
Dni  1624  amongst  other  things  it  was  ordered  that  whereas 
Mr  William  Parker  about  eight  years  past  of  his  free  bounty 
for  the  p’petuall  maintenance  of  an  Organist  in  this  Church 
gave  Twoo  Hundred  poundes  in  money,  to  pay  Tenne 
Poundes  yeerely  for  ever  to  an  Organist  in  this  Church ; 
with  desire  that  if  either  nowe  or  at  any  tyme  hereafter 
there  were  any  Childe  of  the  singinge  Schoole  of  Christe 
Hospitall  fytt  and  capeable  for  an  Organist  in  this  Church, 
That  then  in  the  tyme  of  vacancie  hee  should  be  preferred  to 
the  place  of  Organist  before  any  other,  duly  p’fourming  the 
service  of  the  same  accordinge  to  the  custome  of  this  church 
and  the  Canons  Ecclesiasticall, 

‘And  forasmuch  as  at  this  present  there  is  one  Lawrence 
Hall  lately  trayned  up  in  the  foresaid  singinge  schoole,  he 
is  now  growen  capeable  of  the  foresayd  place  of  Organist  ; 
and  at  his  humble  suite,  together  with  the  true  meaninge 
of  the  ffounder,  the  desire  of  the  Treasorer  and  Gouernors 
of  Christe  Hospitall,  and  the  consent  of  the  parish  by  this 
Vestrie  houlden  the  day  and  yeere  above  sayd,  that  the  sayd 
Lawrence  Hall  should  be  receaued  and  admytted  Organist 
of  this  Church.’ 

Richard  Browne,  who  was  music  master  for  many  years 
towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  besides  being 
a “very  passionate  man,”  who  “did  frequently  sweare  and 
use  ill  language  to  the  children,”  was  sharply  reminded 
in  1690  of  his  duty  “to  instruct  two  of  the  boyes  now  under 
his  care  to  play  the  tunes  of  all  the  Psalms  and  a Voluntary 
on  the  Organs  in  Christ  Church  as  soon  as  may  be.”  John 
Barrett,  who  was  “ pitcht  upon  ” to  succeed  Browne,  was  called 
to  book  on  the  same  account  in  1699,  but  pleaded  that  he  had 
one  boy  “that  can  play  on  the  Organ  and  hath  done  it 


144  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

several  1 times  in  the  great  Hall.”  Long  before  this,  in 
January  1684,  it  was  “moved  that  the  Musick  Master  might 
be  oblidged  to  teach  some  children  upon  the  Violin,  and  that 
once  a fortnight  on  a Wednesday  night  the  boyes  soe  taught 
might  sing  (?  play)  in  parts  with  the  organe  with  as  many 
other  children  as  can  be  taught  to  sing  in  part,  which  was 
well  liked,  and  Sir  Matthew  Andrews  said  he  would  give  one 
violin  and  Esqr  Tench  two.” 

But,  even  with  the  “ chaire-organ  ” and  the  violins  and  the 
succession  of  professional  teachers  in  sole  charge  of  twelve 
picked  boys,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  that  the  foundation 
justified  Robert  Dow’s  hopes  of  it.  Here,  as  with  the 
Mathematical  School,  the  fault  lay  at  the  door  of  the 
masters.  Sometimes  they  were  bullies  like  Mr.  Browne, 
whose  “servant”  ( i.e . assistant  teacher)  left  him  in  terror 
and  had  to  be  “put  in  the  Gazette,  that  soe  it  might  be 
knowne  what  was  become  of  him  ” (July  4th,  1689);  some- 
times the  “quarter’s  sailary”  was  suspended,  the  Governors 
“ having  some  suspition  ” that  the  master  was  “ negligent 
in  his  business.”  But  the  records  show  no  sign  that  the 
School  was  a nursing  mother  of  great  executants  or  original 
composers,  and  whereas  a Grammar  School  boy  frequently 
produced  the  libretto  of  the  Easter  Anthem  and  got  it 
accepted  by  the  Court,  it  appears  to  have  been  always  the 
Song  School  Master  and  not  his  pupils  who  provided  the 
score.  In  modern  times  the  barrenness  of  the  music  teaching 
of  the  Hospital  is  excusable  enough  ; for  specialism  is  crowded 
out  by  much  else  and  the  music  is  a mere  p ar ergon  ; but  in 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  it  was  the  whole 
existence  of  the  Song  School  boys.  One  cannot  help  feeling 
that  if  Mr.  Pepys  could  have  been  in  the  Science  and  Art 
Department  at  South  Kensington  instead  of  Secretary  to 
“ My  Lords  ” at  Whitehall,  he  would  have  interfered  in  the 
Music  School  with  the  same  persistence  as  he  did  in  the 
“ Mathemat  ” ; for  Pepys  fancied  himself  in  music  both  as 
a judge  and  as  a performer. 

It  would  be  well  if  one  could  hope  to  see  this  musical 
foundation  of  the  seventeenth  century  revived  into  a useful 


THE  MUSIC  SCHOOL 


i45 


existence  in  the  Christ’s  Hospital  of  the  future.  The  West 
Horsham  plans  included  a separate  hall  for  music,  but  it 
has  been  “written  off”  as  a luxury.  Still,  with  the  old  organ 
of  the  great  Hall  reconstructed  at  considerable  cost,  and  with 
the  new  organ  which  the  generosity  of  an  anonymous  donor 
is  providing  for  the  Horsham  Chapel,  the  school  will  not  lack 
the  “plant.”  The  rest  must  depend  upon  the  teachers,  and 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  direct  attention  to  points  which  arise 
out  of  this  sketch  of  the  Song  School.  Robert  Dow  un- 
questionably preferred  a choir  of  twelve,  if  it  were  good  all 
through,  to  a fortuitous  concourse  of  sixty  or  seventy  vocal 
atoms.  The  one  was  better  calculated  to  lead  the  singing 
than  the  other.  And  he  was  anxious  that  the  purpose  set 
before  them  should  be  the  reverent  and  effective  musical 
rendering  of  Divine  Service,  at  a time  when  the  national 
school  of  Cathedral  music — almost  the  only  national  music 
we  possess — was  rising  towards  its  zenith.  Our  Music  School 
can  still  have  no  worthier  ambition. 


L 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


WRITING,  READING,  AND  DRAWING 


“ He  desired  to  see  my  writing : I showed  him  some ; he  might  have  read  it 
by  the  light  of  my  blushes.”— Coleridge  (letter  from  C.  H.  to  his  brother, 
May  17th,  1791). 


LACED  as  it  is  in  the  midst  of  a commercial  com- 


munity, Christ’s  Hospital  has  from  the  first  extended 
to  its  sons  the  benefit  of  a commercial  education,  and  few 
schools  have  turned  out  better  penmen  than  some  of  our 
“ Blues.’’  The  first  list  of  the  staff  contained  “ a teacher  to 
write,”  though  he  combined  with  his  teaching  the  office  of 
Clerk  to  the  Governors.  It  also  contained  two  elementary 
teachers — “ Schoole-Maisters  for  the  Betties,  A.  B.  C.” — of 
whom  one,  Thomas  Cutts,  seems  to  have  been  also  Clerk  to 
the  parish  of  Christ  Church;  while  in  1570  it  is  on  record 
that  “ Robert  Browne  Schole  Mr  of  the  pettite  is  admitted 
to  the  Barbers  rome  of  this  house  in  the  Lewe  of  Robert 
ffoster  who  late  had  the  same  and  for  that  he  never  wold 
shave  the  childrens  hede  he  is  dismissed.”  But,  however 
humble  its  teachers  may  have  been,  the  Writing  School  soon 
came  under  the  favour  of  the  benevolent.  Dame  Ramsey, 
the  almost  “ universal  provider,”  to  whom  the  pick  of  the 
Grammar  School  have  always  been  so  much  indebted  in  the 
matter  of  exhibitions  tenable  at  the  universities,  and  whose 
rectory  of  Colne  Engaine  sheltered  them  in  after  life,  was 
the  virtual  foundress  of  the  Writing  School.  It  appears  to 
have  been  started  in  1577,  the  year  her  husband,  Sir  Thomas 
Ramsey,  was  “ Maior  of  thys  most  famous  cittie”;  which 
may  account  for  the  fact  that  her  will,  dated  January  1596) 


THE  WRITING  SCHOOL 


146 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  147 

gave  £ 20  a year  to  “ maintain  in  the  said  hospital  a writing- 
school,  with  a master  and  usher,  to  teach  as  well  poor  men’s 
children  of  the  city  of  London  as  children  of  the  said 
hospital  to  write  and  cast  accounts.”  Naturally,  her  name 
was  long  associated  with  the  office,  and  even  when  things 
begin  to  settle  down  again  after  the  Restoration  and  the 
Court  Books  give  a careful  list  of  the  staff  as  it  was  in  1662, 
“ Mr  Jonathan  Pickes”  is  still  called  “Master  of  the  Lady 
Ramsies  Writing  Schoole.”  The  original  elementary  teach- 
ing was  in  existence  at  the  same  time,  for  we  are  given  in 
1661  the  names  of  the  master  and  usher  of  “ye  A.  B.  C. 
Schoole,”  which,  so  far  as  I have  been  able  to  search,  does 
not  appear  again.  No  doubt  it  was  merged  in  the  larger 
School,  which  contained  in  1662  170  boys,  and  was  evi- 
dently overcrowded,  so  that  there  was  a proposal  that  the 
usher  should  have  a Writing  School  to  himself  in  a room 
under  the  ordinary  schoolroom,  and  take  on  the  charge  of 
half  the  pupils.  It  is  also  clear  that  the  staff  was  very 
inadequate.  Poor  Jonathan  Pickes  came  to  the  Court  a 
couple  of  years  after  the  Fire  and  poured  out  a doleful  tale. 
He  had  been  “35  years  a servant  and  Writeing  Master  in 
this  House,”  and  pleaded  that  “by  reason  of  the  two  great 
judgments  of  the  visitacon  and  fire,  and  having  xi  in  family 
to  maintaine  and  paying  of  rent,  taxes,  and  other  duties,” 
he  was  £30  in  debt ; and  the  good  Governors,  knowing  that 
even  a younger  man  could  scarce  teach  to  any  purpose  with 
such  a load  round  his  neck,  paid  his  debts,  promised  him 
£10  a year  towards  his  rent,  and  were  willing  to  give  him 
£13  6s.  8 d.  a year  “towards  the  keepeing  of  any  servant 
whome  he  should  choose  to  assist  him  in  the  affaires  of  this 
Hospitall.”  He  accepted  this,  and  took  to  himself  an 
honorary  colleague,  one  Richard  Gutter,  whose  origin  is 
perhaps  set  forth  in  his  name,  and  who  was  more  than 
content  to  be  “ dyetted  and  clothed.”  In  1674  Gutter  was 
translated,  on  a report  that  he  was  “ of  good  life  and 
conversation,”  to  be  assistant  to  the  Mathematical  Master, 
which  is  at  least  some  warrant  for  his  having  other  attain- 
ments than  mere  caligraphy.  And  that  is  more,  apparently, 


i4»  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


than  can  be  said  for  some  of  the  masters,  let  alone  the 
ushers.  They  taught  their  pupils  to  write  and  to  read,  but 
even  elementary  arithmetic  was  hardly  their  strong  point. 
Take  the  sad  story  of  Mr.  William  James.  Just  before  the 
great  Fire  he  had  fallen  into  disgrace  with  Mr.  Shadrach 
Helmes,  the  Upper  Grammar  Master  (1662-78).  After  the 
Fire,  the  Hospital  was  almost  depleted,  and,  in  the  general 
lack  of  funds,  it  was  decided  to  dispense  with  Mr.  James’s 
services  altogether,  the  Court  no  doubt  bearing  in  mind 
that  Mr.  Helmes  had  reported  him  for  having  “absented 
himselfe  from  his  schoole  severall  dayes,  being  oftentymes 
very  much  disguised  with  Drinke.”  But  the  Governors’ 
memory  was  short,  and,  another  vacancy  occurring  in  the 
Writing  School  in  1674,  James  and  another  were  candidates, 
and  were  “ caused  to  write  ” before  the  Committee,  “ the 
which  writeing  they  very  well  approved.”  William  Gibbon, 
the  Treasurer,  seems  to  have  carried  the  day  in  favour  of 
James  by  the  “great  character”  which  he  gave  of  him. 
Alas ! it  was  worth  no  more  than  most  testimonials,  and 
a year  later  a sub-committee  is  examining  James,  who  is 
reported  to  have  resumed  his  former  “disguise.”  He  does 
not  deny  it  for  a moment ; sometimes  he  “ was  soe.”  But 
he  gets  off  with  extenuating  circumstances  on  the  plea  that 
“ when  he  was  soe,  he  had  soe  much  discretion  to  hide  it 
from  the  children  of  this  House.”  This  was  in  August,  and 
his  respite  was  brief.  His  “disguise”  might  be  overlooked, 
but  a dreadful  rumour  reached  the  Committee  that  he  could 
not  teach  Arithmetic.  So  they  had  him  up  once  more  in 
December  of  the  same  year.  “ Being  demanded  whether 
he  could  teach  comon  Arithmetick,  that  is  the  plaine  Rule 
of  three,  he  made  but  very  slender  answere  to  it  and  told 
them  that  if  he  was  deficient  in  Arithmetick  he  would  make 
it  his  business  for  the  time  to  come  to  enforme  himselfe 
better  in  it.  The  Committee  put  a Question  in  Arithmetick 
to  him  which  he  could  not  doe,  and  for  that  reason  that  he 
is  not  skilled  in  Arithmetick  and  for  that  the  Children  have 
been  very  much  neglected,  the  Committee  reporte  his  in- 
sufficiency.” The  Court  was  of  the  same  mind  and 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  149 

sentenced  him  to  “come  noe  more  into  the  said  Schoole 
after  Christmas  Day.”  In  February  1676,  thanks  to  “a 
letter  from  my  Lord  Berkeley,”  John  Smith  reigned  in  his 
stead,  and  his  rule  was  long  and  beneficent. 

Some  idea  of  a day  in  the  Writing  School  in  the  later 
years  of  the  seventeenth  century  may  be  gathered  from  the 
“Orders”  drawn  up  in  1676.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
case  before  the  Fire,  the  room  occupied  was  at  this  time 
over  the  Grammar  School,  till  Sir  John  Moore’s  fine  building 
was  erected  for  Dame  Ramsey’s  foundation.  Therefore  it 
is  laid  down  that  the  Writing  Master  must  “ take  care  that 
his  discipline  be  so  managed  that  there  be  no  disgust  given 
to  the  Gramar  Masters  by  a tumultuary  remoovall  up  and 
down  over  their  heads  to  their  great  disturbance.”  As  was 
the  case  with  the  other  schools,  work  began  at  7 a.m.,  when 
the  usher  had  to  read  prayers,  and  the  master  must  enter 
before  the  prayers  were  over.  Morning  school  ended  at 
1 1,  with  more  prayers,  and  in  the  afternoon  they  worked 
from  1 to  5 p.m.  except  Thursdays,  when  they  stopped  at 
3,  and  Saturdays  and  Holy-Days,  when  there  was  no  after- 
noon school  at  all.  At  each  school  there  is  to  be  a roll-call 
and  an  injunction  is  added  that  “if  any  shall  be  found 
missing,  correction  shall  be  given  to  them  by  shame  or 
smart.”  It  would  seem  that  occasionally  the  masters 
omitted  the  consideration  of  the  first  alternative.  “The 
bigger  sort”  are  “to  have  exercises  to  prepare  at  night,” 
not  so  much  because  their  eight  hours’  day  has  not  been 
enough  as  in  order  that  they  may  not  “ be  idle  and  gad  up 
and  down  the  streetes.”  Writing  is  still  to  receive  every 
encouragement,  for  “ whereas  the  children  have  hitherto  had 
but  one  penn  in  a weeke,  it  is  agreed  that  they  shall  for 
the  future  have  two  pens.”  Special  directions  are  given 
about  reading  ; a “ convenient  bible  ” is  provided  as  a corpus 
vile,  and  the  master  must  see  “ that  the  Scollars  by  turns 
every  morning  in  an  audible  manner  doe  read  a chapter, 
silence  bqing  made  in  the  whole  schoole  and  strict  attention 
injoyned,  that  soe  the  children  may  be  better  fitted  for  the 
upper  schoole.”  Various  rules  are  added  to  regulate  the 


150  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

relations  between  master  and  usher,  and  both  alike  have 
their  devotions  interfered  with  by  a command  that  they 
must  “come  every  Lord’s  day  to  Christ  Church  that  soe 
their  schollars  may  be  kept  in  good  order  during  prayer 
and  sermon  time.”  As  to  the  examination  of  their  pupils, 
the  Court  will  look  over  their  copybooks  themselves  in 
Bartholomew  week  each  year,  and  we  have  already  seen 
that  they  felt  equal  to  cross-questioning  the  masters  them- 
selves as  to  the  state  of  their  arithmetic. 

For  the  next  twenty  years  there  is  little  to  notice  in  the 
development  of  the  Writing  School.  The  reading  was 
evidently  at  one  time  under  suspicion  ; for  in  March  1689 
the  Committee  resolved  “that  40  or  50  boyes  in  the  Writing 
Schoole  shall  be  examined  at  every  Visitation  as  to  their 
reading  ” ; and  if  the  dread  of  appearing  before  the  Court 
did  not  prove  a sufficient  inducement  to  them  to  “ improve 
their  reading,”  then  they  “shall  be  sent  into  the  Country, 
which  will  shame  them  and  be  a warning  to  the  rest.” 
Again,  in  the  year  following,  there  was  an  attempt  to  improve 
the  curriculum  on  its  commercial  side.  Someone  proposed 
that  a score  of  the  pupils  should  specially  learn  “ Merchants’ 
Accounts,”  in  the  hope  that  this  “ may  be  of  good  advantage 
to  them  both  for  the  credit  of  the  Hospitall  and  the  boyes 
better  preferment  when  they  are  placed  forth.”  So  they 
sent  for  Mr  Smith,  the  Writing  Master,  who  said  that  he 
had  no  time  to  give  such  instruction,  and  it  is  not  clear 
that  for  the  moment  anything  was  done.  But  at  some 
period  or  other  this  sort  of  teaching  was  adopted  and  it 
lasted  on  into  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Charity  Commis- 
sioners of  1837  reported  that  about  50,  out  of  140,  were  in 
“the  Merchants’  Class” — an  institution  which  many  “Blues” 
can  well  remember. 

The  Writing  School  attained  a fresh  importance,  as  the 
seventeenth  century  came  to  its  close,  owing  to  the  generous 
attentions  of  Alderman  Sir  John  Moore.  Since  the  Fire 
the  accommodation  had  been  obviously  inadequate,  and 
Sir  John  offered  to  remedy  the  defect  by  building  an  en- 
tirely new  school  at  his  own  charges.  Sir  Christopher 


THE  WRITING  SCHOOL 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  151 

Wren  was  called  in  to  design  the  building,  and  on  February 
20th,  1672,  he  “presented  the  draught  of  the  new  intended 
Writeing  Schoole,”  after  which  the  Committee  “went  to  view 
the  ground  and  scite  proposed.”  But,  more  suo,  the  great 
architect  did  little  of  the  work  himself.  In  the  following 
June  “ Mr  Treasurer  represented  to  the  Committee  the  great 
pains  and  industry  that  Mr  Hawksmore  Sr  Christopher 
Wrens  gentleman  hath  taken  in  makeing  the  draughts  of 
the  new  intended  Writing  Schoole  and  severall  other  matters 
relating  to  that  affaire,  as  alsoe  what  great  trouble  he  is 
likely  to  be  at  in  the  time  of  building  of  it.”  Hawksmore, 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  architect  of  St.  Mary 
Woolnoth,  and  (till  the  Provost  found  him  too  “ luxuriant  ” 
and  “exorbitant”*)  was  to  have  designed  the  additions  to 
King’s  College,  Cambridge.  In  the  present  instance,  he  did 
not  err  on  the  side  of  luxuriance,  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
content  when  the  Governors  gave  him  “ ten  Guinneys  as  an 
Expression  of  their  thanks  to  him  for  his  great  care  and 
Service  therein.” 

The  work  was  finished  within  three  years,  and  April  1 ith, 
1695,  was  appointed  for  “the  solemne  opening  of  the  new 
stately  Writing  School,  built  and  compleatly  finished  with  all 
the  conveniences  and  appendices  as  it  now  stands,  together 
with  the  Writing-Master’s  House  adjoining,  [apparently  the 
present  Warden’s  office]  ...  at  the  sole  cost  and  incredible 
charge  of  Sir  John  Moore  Knt.”  The  ceremony  is  worth 
recording  in  the  words  of  the  Minutes.  “After  the  Lord 
Maior  was  pleased  to  place  himself  in  the  Deske  prepared 
for  the  Writing  Master  and  Sr  John  Moore  was  prevailed 
with  to  place  himselfe  there  on  his  right  hand  (the  children 
being  all  placed  before  in  the  lower  raunges  of  seats  and 
in  the  Gallary),  we  say,  after  these  preparations  made,  the 
Governors  with  a great  number  of  other  Gentlemen  walk’d 
out  of  the  greate  Hall  two  and  two  toward  the  front  of  the 
Schoole ; where  when  they  had  placed  themselves  in  the 
foremost  raunge  of  seats  and  passage,  the  Treasurer,  as  he 
was  directed,  made  his  humble  address  to  the  Lord  Maior 
* Austen  Leigh,  King’s  College , pp  169-70. 


152  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


in  these  or  very  neere  like  termes.”  Mr.  Mountfort,  the 
Grammar  Master,  had  failed,  as  already  recorded,  to  produce 
a boy  fit  to  make  the  necessary  speech,  and  Mr.  Smith,  the 
Writing  Master,  was  told  to  try  his  hand,  but  in  the  end 
it  fell  to  the  Treasurer,  whose  words  may  be  easily  imagined. 
He  closed  with  a prayer  for  the  Divine  blessing  upon  the 
generous  donor  and  with  the  bidding  “ Let  all  that  hear 
me  say  Amen.”  “ Upon  which  close,”  says  the  Minute 
Book,  “ the  children  (being  instructed  soe  to  doe)  with  many 
others  joyned  as  with  one  mouth  in  the  repetition  of  Amen 
joyfully.”  No  great  occasion  in  Christ’s  Hospital  has  ever 
been  complete  without  an  anthem.  This  time  it  consisted 
of  a treble  solo,  a quartet  for  the  children  of  the  Music 
School,  and  a tutti  by  the  chorus  of  all  the  children.  The 
shops,  which  were  to  support  this  building  in  more  senses 
than  one,  must  be  mentioned  elsewhere ; but  with  the 
exception  of  them  and  of  the  glass  partitions  which  have 
split  up  the  big  room  in  modern  times  the  Writing  School 
remains,  at  the  time  I write,  much  as  Sir  John  Moore  left  it. 
The  desks,  with  their  holes  for  the  inkpots  with  which  he 
furnished  them,  are  worthy  to  outlast  the  present  building 
and  to  retire  into  the  country. 

One  more  incident  in  connexion  with  Sir  John  Moore,  and 
we  must  leave  the  good  knight.  It  is  worth  recording 
because  it  involves  the  name  of  a greater  than  he.  It  was 
felt  that  the  “ incredible  charges  ” which  he  had  taken  upon 
him  in  building  the  Writing  School  called  for  some  per- 
manent memorial,  and  between  the  opening  of  the  building 
and  the  following  December,  “ Mr  Gibbons,  the  Carver," 
was  entrusted  with  the  task  of  producing  a statue  of  the 
benefactor.  Like  many  artists,  Gibbons  was  above  such 
mundane  considerations  as  punctuality,  and  Mr.  Parrey,  the 
Clerk,  was  asked  to  call  upon  him  (December  20th,  1695)  “to 
know  the  reason  of  his  delay,”  and  “to  get  Mr  Gibbons  to 
appeare  if  he  can.”  “ Mr  Gibbons  the  Carver  ” appeared 
early  in  January  and  “declared  that  he  cannot  finish  the 
statue  untill  Sr  John  hath  sat  once,”  but  “in  a month  after 
that  Mr  Gibbons  promiseth  to  finish  the  same.”  What  his 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  153 

promise  was  worth  may  be  inferred  from  an  entry  of 
October  20th,  1698.  “ Mr  Gibbons,  a (sic)  Carver,  makes 

a demand  for  £60,  residue  of  £90  for  making  Sir  John 
Moore’s  statue,”  but,  alas ! “ the  same  being  in  no  way  liked 
off  has  been  the  occasion  of  delaying  ye  payement.”  A few 
days  later  the  great  man,  now  called  “ Mr  Grinling  Gibbons, 
Carver,”  was  told  bluntly  “ that  the  Statue  is  not  approved 
off  by  anybody,  the  face  no  way  resembling  Sir  John 
Moore,”  and  that  the  Committee  “doe  expect  he  shall  amend 
it  before  he  is  paid  his  money.”  So  three  members  were 
told  off  to  make  sure  of  this  amendment,  and  as  the  result 
of  “ their  very  good  satisfaction  ” the  money  was  paid.  The 
marble  statue,  a class  of  work  with  which  Gibbons’  name  has 
not  been  generally  associated,  was  placed  inside  the  School 
at  the  south  end  ; but  some  ten  years  later  it  was  decided 
to  put  it  “on  the  outside  of  ye  school  in  a Netch  to  be  made 
for  that  purpose  in  the  middle  window  on  the  East  side 
in  the  most  substantiall  and  effectuall  manner  as  may  be.” 
Few  would  suspect,  as  they  look  at  it,  that  it  connects 
the  memory  of  a generous  citizen  with  the  work  of  a match- 
less artist.  But  those  who  wish  to  see  it  must  make  a 
journey  to  West  Horsham. 

THE  READING  SCHOOL 

The  separate  existence  of  a Reading  School  is  not  to  be 
followed  in  the  records  without  some  doubt  as  to  its  exact 
history.  We  have  seen  that  on  the  earliest  staff  there  were 
“ Scholemaisters  for  the  Petites”  who  would  naturally  give 
instruction  in  reading.  That  is  one  end  of  the  history  of 
the  Reading  School.  The  other  end  is  that  of  the  “ Blues  ” 
of  modern  days,  who  no  doubt  are  still  nominally  taught 
to  read  in  the  Writing  School.  I can  only  say  that  the 
first  reading  lesson  which  ever  made  any  impression  on  me 
1 received  in  my  nineteenth  year  from  the  Head  Master  with 
a view  to  the  “ devotional  exercises,”  as  reporters  call  them, 
at  the  Public  Suppers.  But  evidently  this  was  not  the  case 
in  the  early  years  of  the  Hospital.  “ Whereas,”  says  a.  Court 


i54  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


minute  of  1632,  “it  hath  been  used  of  Antient  custome  that 
the  Children  have  been  remooved  out  of  the  pettie  schoole 
into  the  writing  schoole  to  the  intent  they  might  bee  the 
sooner  fitted  to  bee  put  forth  apprentizes,  It  hath  been  found 
that  in  the  tyme  of  their  learning  to  write  they  have  quite 
lost  their  Readinge  for  want  of  exercize,  It  is  therefore 
thought  fitt  and  is  ordered  by  this  Court  that  from  hence- 
forth the  said  children  shalbe  remooued  out  of  the  Pettie 
Schoole  into  the  Grammar  Schoole  for  theire  better  per- 
fection in  Reading,  And  that  the  said  children  at  the  hower 
of  Foure  in  the  afternoone  shall  goo  from  thence  to  the 
Writing  Schoole  to  practise  theire  writing  there  after  theire 
Exercises  done  in  the  Grammar  Schoole  aforesaid.”  It  is 
obvious  from  this  that  the  teaching  of  reading  in  the  early 
seventeenth  century  was  very  much  in  the  haphazard  con- 
dition which  “Blues”  of  my  own  standing  found  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  nineteenth.  But  at  some  date  shortly  after  this 
year  1632  a department  was  established  (probably  on  the 
foundation  of  the  “Pettie  School”)  for  this  particular  subject, 
which  continued  to  hold  its  own  thirty  years  later  at  the 
time  of  the  Restoration  ; indeed,  one  of  its  masters  was  then 
dismissed  as  a person  ill  affected  towards  the  King.  “Mr 
Francis  Soley,”  the  terrible  rumour  ran  in  September  1662, 
“ had  not  subscribed  according  to  the  last  Act  of  Parliament, 
nor  had  not  a Lycence  to  teach.”  But,  worse  than  this, 
“he  had  another  imployment  and  had  left  the  care  of  the 
children  to  a strainger  without  the  order  of  the  Court,” 
who  were  “highly  displeased.”  They  must,  however,  have 
been  highly  inconvenienced  too ; for  the  Reading  School 
was  already  undermanned.  In  March  1662  there  were  “85 
house  children  in  the  said  schoole  and  but  one  Maister  to 
looke  unto  them  (who  receiues  £18  p.  ann,  the  Usher  or 
Assistant  being  lately  gone,  who  receiued  £ 12 ),  which  we  are 
fully  satisfied,”  the  Committee  say,  “ is  to  great  to  be  taught 
by  one  man.”  So  they  recommend  the  appointment  of  two 
men  at  £20  a year  each  and  warn  them  that  they  are  “to 
bring  no  family  into  the  hospital.”  Four  years  later  the 
Reading  School  was  once  more  desolate  of  its  proper  staff ; 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  155 

“ Mr  Batty  Reading  Schoole  Maister  had  since  the  last  Court 
for  severall  reasons  withdrawne  from  his  imployment  in  this 
house  and  the  place  was  now  voyd,  but  att  present  supplied 
by  one  that  was  a child  of  this  house  (a  Minister).”  Evi- 
dently there  was  need  of  someone  to  be  its  Maecenas  or 
force  its  necessities  on  public  attention.  This  someone 
appeared  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Thomas  Barnes,  who  among 
other  benefactions,  of  which  more  elsewhere,  left  £25  a year 
for  a master  to  teach  Latin  and  English,  and  the  Court 
considered  this  in  the  light  of  an  endowment  for  this  un- 
fortunate Reading  School.  John  Sampson,  “heretofore  a 
child  of  this  Hospitall,”  was  appointed  in  1669,  but  his  work 
came  to  an  end  in  1684,  because  “ His  Maties  HonorbIe  Comis- 
sioners”  (a  body  with  a painfully  modern  counterpart)  did 
not  “ return  ” him  as  Reading  Master.  So  poor  Sampson, 
who  had  already  been  ordered  that  “with  all  convenient 
speed  hee  discharge  all  his  Towne  children,”  who  made  up  a 
large  part  of  his  income,  found  his  occupation  altogether 
gone,  without  any  chance  of  compensation.  And  again  the 
Reading  School  went  into  retirement,  till  the  Committee 
in  1700  awoke  to  the  fact  that  there  was  this  unused  Barnes 
benefaction,  and  one  William  East  was  appointed  and 
“ allowed  to  have  the  possession  of  the  room  adjoining 
Southward  of  the  Music  School  for  him  to  lodge  in  ” ( ob - 
scurum  per  obscurius,  for  we  do  not  know  where  the  Music 
School  was).  East  subsequently  went  to  Hertford,  where  he 
was  expected  to  manage  and  instruct  130  children  at  a time, 
and  “a  chaire  and  Quarto  Bible”  and  a boy  “taken  out  of  the 
House  and  bound  as  an  apprentice  for  seven  yeares  ” were 
all  the  assistance  provided  for  him. 

Half  a century  later  the  reading  both  at  Hertford  and  in 
London  was  still  very  bad.  At  Hertford  “the  children  were 
frequently  taught  to  write  and  cast  Accompts  before  they 
were  able  to  spell  and  Read  so  well  as  might  be  expected 
from  their  age  and  standing.”  In  London  in  the  same  year, 
1 75 5>  James  Townley,  then  Upper  Grammar  Master,  presented 
a memorial  to  the  Committee,  “ setting  forth  that  having 
observed  the  Boys  in  general  were  very  deficient  in  their 


156  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


reading  English  . . . (there  being  no  provision  for  instruct- 
ing the  Boys  in  Town  in  this  Primary  and  necessary  Qualifi- 
cation) therefore  proposed  to  take  two  Wards  at  a time  into 
his  School  on  Mondays  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  from 
eleven  to  twelve  to  instruct  them  in  reading  English.”  He 
also  suggested  alterations  in  “ the  practice  of  reading  in  the 
Wards  on  a Sunday  (which  at  present  is  very  ill  conducted).” 
The  latter  changes  seem  to  have  been  left  to  the  initiative 
of  “the  Revd  Mr  James  Penn,  Under  Grammar  Master,” 
whose  scheme  was  put  forward  in  1761  and  throws  some 
light  on  one  or  two  matters  of  interest.  “ 1 he  learning  of 
Latin,”  he  says,  “ is  immediately  necessary  for  Youth  de- 
signed for  the  University,  mediately  for  other  Professions ; 
a small  number  of  Boys  is  sufficient  for  these  Purposes,  the 
Demand  for  both  being  very  inconsiderable.”  No  boy 
therefore  should  go  into  the  Grammar  School  with  a view 
to  learning  Latin  after  ten  years  of  age,  “ because  he  will  not 
be  able  to  make  the  Progress  necessary  to  qualify  him  for 
the  University.”  Boys  of  eleven,  found  to  be  deficient  in 
Latin,  should  drop  it  and  learn  “ to  Read  and  Write  English 
and  to  Spell.”  There  should  be  100  of  these  to  30  Latinists. 
Here  is  his  not  very  exciting  curriculum.  His  first  form — 
those  who  can  both  read  and  write — were  to  occupy  their 
mornings  first  by  reading  “ Three  or  4 chapters  in  the 
Bible”  and  then  with  “an  English  exercise  Extempore  to 
write  ” ; the  first  part  of  the  afternoon  should  be  given  to 
spelling,  and  the  second  to  “ An  English  Exercise  in  Writing, 
the  words  all  false.”  His  second  class  would  simply  vary 
its  reading  lessons  by  learning  to  write,  while  both  classes 
were  twice  a week  to  learn  “ a Collect  or  part  of  the  Bible 
by  heart.” 

But  there  was  still  the  difficulty  of  keeping  up  the  reading 
after  they  left  the  Lower  Grammar  School,  and  this  Penn 
proposed  to  meet  by  a system  of  reading  in  the  wards. 
“ Two  chapters,”  he  says,  “ are  or  ought  to  be  read  in  every 
Ward  one  in  the  morning  the  other  in  the  evening  by  a 
boy  called  the  Marker.  Instead  of  which  suppose  the  Boys 
in  their  several  wards  were  to  take  it  in  turn  to  read  these 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  157 

Chapters.  By  this  method  every  Boy  would  read  at  least 
Twelve  Chapters  in  the  Bible  yearly.”  Also,  and  worse 
than  all,  “of  a Sunday  at  Noon  when  in  their  Wards  each 
boy  to  read  Ten  or  Twelve  verses  in  the  Bible.  This 
finished,  to  spell.”  What  happened  to  this  dismal  scheme 
it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  its  mention  of  the  “ boy  called 
the  Marker”  is  interesting.  In  Trollope’s  time  the  Markers 
were  “selected  from  the  best  proficients  in  reading,  with 
a due  regard  to  general  merit,”  and  were  also  Monitors. 
They  wore  a Marker’s  medal  attached  to  a blue  ribbon  on 
Sundays  and  public  occasions,  and  this  custom  continued 
till  1880,  when  the  present  writer,  the  last  of  the  Markers 
to  wear  his  medal  in  school,  was  called  upon  to  deliver  it 
up,  and  the  ribbon  to  which  it  was  attached  is  preserved  in 
the  Museum. 

But  in  between  Mr.  Penn’s  scheme  and  the  Trollope  era 
there  occur  entries  in  the  minutes  which  show  that  the 
Governors  were  doing  their  best  to  make  the  reading  in- 
struction efficient  and  general.  In  1800  and  thereabouts  the 
examiner  in  this  subject  was  a certain  Mr.  Prince  and  his 
task  was  evidently  no  light  one.  The  Committee  of  that 
date  expressed  their  grateful  sense  that  “ his  examination 
of  so  large  a number  of  Boys  as  459  engaged  an  uncommon 
devotion  of  his  own  time,”  and  the  work  was  clearly  done 
on  some  definite  system,  for  the  reading-books  in  use  were 
carefully  graduated  to  show  “ the  qualification  of  each  boy 
then  and  now.”  In  the  spring  of  1801  the  number  under 
examination  had  dropped  to  351,  being  regulated  by  the 
number  of  boys  in  the  school  over  thirteen  years  of  age, 
and  the  precise  and  painsfull  examiner  notes  for  the  in- 
formation of  the  Governors  that  “their  errors  were  1022.” 
We  may  take  leave  of  him  with  a mention  of  his  mild 
suggestion  made  in  the  following  year  that  “ he  thought 
much  good  would  result  if  English  Grammar  were  in  general 
use.” 

The  late  Canon  Buckle,  whose  recollections  I have  quoted 
elsewhere,  told  me  that  one  thing  at  any  rate  the  school  did 
for  the  boys  of  his  day.  “ It  made  us  very  familiar  with  the 


158  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

text  of  the  Prayer  Book  and  the  Bible — which  last  was  a 
regular  reading-book  for  the  younger  classes”;  while  my 
old  friend,  Deputy  Cox,  whose  memory  went  back  still 
further,  wrote  that  “ after  leaving  the  Hall  on  Sundays  before 
going  to  Church  in  the  afternoon,  we  assembled  in  the 
wards,  and  there  was  a little  reading,  a Marker  presiding.” 
All  of  which  seems  to  show  that,  as  the  century  went  on, 
the  “ Blues  ” after  their  early  years  taught  themselves  to 
read  and  did  it  with  their  Bible. 

THE  DRAWING  SCHOOL 

It  is  conceivable  that  some  scholars  of  our  ancient  house 
will  want  to  skip  this  subject,  and  indeed  it  has  its  un- 
pleasant memories  for  many.  In  modern  times  instruction 
in  drawing  has  been  compulsory  at  certain  stages  in  the 
school  course,  and  the  present  writer  is  one  of  a herd  whom 
Providence  never  intended  for  the  describing  of  straight 
lines,  much  less  of  curves.  And  there  was  a time  within 
comparatively  recent  memory,  when  others,  who  had  a 
moderate  competency  in  these  mysteries,  chose  rather  to 
disguise  it  and  suffer  affliction  among  the  incompetents 
than  to  fly  to  evils  that  they  knew  not  of,  except  by  dire 
report,  in  the  room  beyond.  But,  in  the  assurance  that 
manners  have  changed  with  the  times  even  in  the  Drawing 
School,  we  may  pass  with  equanimity  to  glance  at  its 
beginnings. 

The  motive  which  led  to  its  establishment  was  not  art  for 
art’s  sake.  The  “ King’s  foundation  ” had  brought  into  the 
school  a certain  zeal  for  technical  instruction.  The  “ Mathe- 
mats”  prepared  “draughts”  of  all  kinds  from  the  beginning 
under  the  eye  of  their  master,  and  it  has  already  been 
remarked  that  all  other  interests  were  for  a time  sub- 
ordinated to  those  of  the  King’s  Boys.  It  was  therefore 
proposed  in  the  summer  of  1692  that  the  teaching  of 
drawing  should  begin  in  the  Writing  School,  to  save  the 
time  of  the  Mathematical  master;  and  in  November  Mr. 
Smith,  the  Writing  Master,  presented  to  the  Schools 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  159 

Committee  “ a specimen  of  divers  of  the  Boyes  drawing, 
which  they  have  learnt  in  about  three  months’  time.”  So 
far  the  experiment  was  justified ; and  meanwhile  the 
Treasurer  had  been  asking  for  opinions  as  to  the  need  of 
such  a school  from  experts  such  as  “ Sr  Christo:  Wren” 
and  Samuel  Pepys.  In  his  reply  Wren  said  he  had  heard 
it  observed  “that  our  English  Artists  are  dull  enough  at 
Inventions,  but  when  once  a forreigne  pattern  is  sett,  they 
imitate  soe  well  that  commonly  they  exceed  the  originall.” 
“ I confess,”  he  went  on,  “ the  observation  is  generally  true, 
but  this  shows  that  our  Natives  want  not  a genius,  but 
education  in  that  which  is  the  foundation  of  all  Mechanick 
Arts,  a practice  in  designing  or  drawing,  to  wch  every  body 
in  Italy,  ffrance,  and  the  Low  Countryes  pretends  to  more 
or  less.”  Pepys,  whose  letter  is  dated  November  17th,  1692, 
confesses  that  he  is  not  the  man  he  was  and  can  only  send 
“y°  opinion  of  one  whom  age  and  Idlenesse  have  nowe 
spoiled  for  a Councellor  in  anything.”  But  he  takes  just 
Wren’s  commercial  view  of  the  need  of  the  Drawing  School, 
urging  that  “ fforeigne  artizans  and  especially  the  ffrench  ” 
are  far  ahead  of  their  British  colleagues  in  this  matter. 

Backed  by  this  advice,  the  Governors  started  the  school  in 
a small  way.  There  would  not  be  room,  Mr.  Smith  said, 
for  more  than  a dozen  boys  to  learne  drawing  in  the  Writing 
School,  and  one  Faithorne  was  elected  to  teach  that  number 
on  a stipend  of  £ 20 , in  February,  1693.  But,  like  other  of 
the  Hospital’s  educational  ventures,  the  Drawing  School  was 
almost  wrecked  by  the  inefficiency  of  the  first  teachers. 
Within  two  years  the  Treasurer  began  to  have  his  fears 
about  Faithorne,  and  the  Committee  “sent  for  him  with  the 
boyes  that  he  teaches  to  draw.”  They  decided  that  “ he 
does  not  acquit  himself  worthily,”  and  that  there  must  be 
some  improvement,  “ otherwayes  they  will  dismiss  him.” 
A year  passed  and  he  was  before  them  again,  with  “ nothing 
materiall  to  say  in  his  owne  vindication.”  At  last,  in  July 
1696,  they  made  up  their  minds  that  his  teaching  “hath 
not  been  of  noe  advantage  in  any  respect  whatever,”  and 
Faithorne  went  his  way.  For  a time  the  Governors  had 


160  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

had  enough  of  Drawing  Masters,  and  the  project  was 
dropped  for  seven  years.  It  came  up  again  in  1703,  and 
was  perpetually  considered  and  deferred  till  May  1705, 
when  it  was  decided  that  forty  boys  should  learn  drawing, 
possibly  because  Faithorne  had  been  idle  with  his  twelve 
pupils,  but,  more  probably,  because  forty  was  the  number  of 
the  “ Mathemats.”  This  time  they  would  be  more  careful 
in  their  choice.  There  were  two  candidates,  “ of  both  whose 
qualifications  the  Committee  resolved  to  make  an  experi- 
ment, and  to  that  purpose  severall  of  the  Committee  went 
with  the  Candidates  upon  the  Platforme  over  the  Mathe- 
matical! Schoole,  and  there  set  each  of  them  to  draw 
imediately  with  their  Pencill  a draught  or  view  of  Christ’s 
Church  Steeple,  and  the  prospect  of  the  Steeples  as  farr  as 
Guildhall.”  It  was  at  once  a severe  test  in  itself  and  a 
delicate  compliment  to  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  who  prided 
himself  on  nothing  so  much  as  the  nicely  calculated  effect 
of  his  circle  of  City  towers.  As  a result,  the  Committee 
“ were  clearly  of  opinion  that  Mr  Lens  draws  the  quickest 
and  the  best.”  If  names  go  for  anything,  they  might  hope 
to  have  made  the  best  choice,  and  so  it  turned  out.  Lens 
was  to  teach  three  afternoons  a week  during  the  usual  hours 
at  ^30  a year.  In  1706  he  received  a “rise”  to  .£50,  and  in 
1708  (because  he  “ acquitts  himselfe  like  an  honest  and 
ingenuous  master”)  another  to  £70.  He  held  his  classes 
in  the  Great  Hall,  and  he  taught  only  the  “ Mathemats.” 
Their  progress  was  so  satisfactory  that  it  was  enacted  for 
their  encouragement  “ that  the  drawing  boyes  when  they  are 
discharged  the  House  shall  take  along  with  them  the  books 
of  their  own  works.”  The  only  trouble  came  from  the 
Mathematical  Master  (Newton),  who  “hath  frequently  on 
some  pretence  or  other  kept  the  boyes  of  his  school  from 
their  attendance  on  Mr  Lens.”  Apart  from  such  trifles  the 
early  Drawing  School  was  an  undoubted  success.  Trollope 
says  that  in  his  time  the  drawing  master  was  “ attached  ” 
to  the  Mathematical  School,  but  that  he  also  had  to  teach 
certain  boys  sent  to  him  from  the  Grammar  and  Writing 
Schools;  and  there  was  a sensible  understanding  that,  if 


WRITING,  READING,  DRAWING  161 

any  of  them  “shall  not  have  a capacity  or  genius  for 
drawing,”  they  are  to  be  “ more  suitably  employed.”  By  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  had  come  to  pass  that 
certain  forms  were  sent  en  masse  to  the  Drawing  School,  with 
the  result  that  tempers  were  lost  and  spirits  were  cowed  and 
“detentions”  were  frequent  and  scourgings  fierce.  But  in 
its  instruction  of  the  “ Mathemats  ” the  Drawing  School  has 
nearly  always  been  successful,  and  has  sometimes  achieved 
quite  astonishing  results.  The  beautiful  art  school  already 
built  at  West  Horsham  offers  the  hope  of  still  better  things 
in  future,  not  only  for  the  “ Mathemats,”  but  for  those  in 
other  parts  of  the  school  who  have  talents  in  this  direction. 
It  is  to  be  sincerely  hoped,  however,  that  the  “ incapables  ” 
will  be  permitted  to  be  “ more  suitably  employed.” 

These  six — the  Grammar,  the  Mathematical,  the  Writing, 
the  Reading,  the  Music,  and  the  Drawing  Schools — represent 
all  that  was  attempted  in  the  first  century  and  a half  of  the 
history  of  the  Foundation,  and  the  system  cannot  be  said  to 
err  on  the  side  of  the  niggardly  or  the  narrow.  Signs  are 
not  wanting  that  more  modern  subjects  pressed  for  con- 
sideration ; for  example,  in  September  1709  there  was  a 
“ proposall  sent  in  writing  to  the  Governors  of  this  Hospitall 
by  Mr  Zachary  Loquet  for  introducing  a French  school 
here,  without  putting  the  house  to  any  charge.”  Obviously 
the  proposer  was  prepared  to  act  towards  the  French  School 
the  part  played  by  Lady  Ramsey  to  the  Writing  School, 
by  Dow  to  the  Song  School,  and  by  Aldworth  and  Colwall 
to  King  Charles’  Foundation.  For  the  moment  the  matter 
was  postponed. 

Modern  times  have  brought  modern  developments.  The 
Commissioners  of  1837  “entirely  agree  in  the  opinion  that 
boys  educated  here  ought  to  be  taught  the  principal  modern 
languages.  In  the  present  state  of  the  intercourse  between 
this  country  and  the  continent,  no  system  of  education  has 
any  pretence  to  be  termed  satisfactory,  much  less  complete, 
that  does  not  embrace  the  study  of  the  French  and  German 
languages.”  In  regard  to  French,  the  advice  was  taken 

M 


162  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


without  delay,  and  for  a quarter  of  a century  and  more  the 
Modern  Side  has  been  taught  German  as  well.  Indeed,  in 
my  own  time  in  the  Grecians’  Class  the  Governing  Body 
gave  us  the  inestimable  advantage  of  receiving  a good  start 
in  that  language  from  Dr.  Theod.  Wehe,  a teacher  whose 
early  death  has  meant  a grievous  loss  to  education  in  the 
country  of  his  adoption. 


THIS  GIRLS’  SCHOOL 


* ✓ 


THE  PLAYGROUND 


THE  HERTFORD  SCHOOL 


FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS  BY  MR.  !*•  G.  SMART,  A GOVERNOR 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  JUNIORS  AND  THE  GIRLS 

“At  Hertford  I was  very  happy  on  the  whole,  for  I had  plenty  to  eat  and  drink, 
and  we  had  pudding  and  vegetables  almost  every  day.” — Coleridge. 


CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL,  HERTFORD 

THIS  story  of  our  Foundation  ought  to  contain  some 
brief  reference  to  work  that  has  been  carried  on 
from  its  earliest  years  at  a considerable  distance  from 
Newgate  Street.  It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  first 
recipients  of  the  City’s  bounty  were  divided  into  children 
under  education  and  children  out  at  nurse.  In  theory,  these 
last  could  be  entertained  anywhere,  and  so  much  a week 
was  paid  for  their  maintenance  till  they  were  of  an  age  to 
join  the  school.  But  well  within  a century  of  the  foundation 
of  the  Hospital  it  had  become  the  practice  to  send  them 
to  three  neighbouring  towns  in  Hertfordshire — Hoddesdon, 
Ware,  and  Hertford.  Here  the  Hospital  acquired  a number 
of  houses  which  it  permitted  certain  selected  nurses  to 
occupy,  they  supplying  the  furniture  and  receiving  up  to  1709 
two  shillings,  and  afterwards  half  a crown  a week  for  the 
board  of  each  child  sent  to  them.  It  is  easy  to  believe  that 
these  worthy  dames  complained  as  often  as  they  reasonably 
could  that  “ all  sorts  of  provisions  were  extraordinary  deare,” 
with  a view  to  an  additional  allowance.  But  the  fact  that 
from  early  times  the  Hospital  had  not  only  its  many  pen- 
sioners, but  hundreds  of  boys  and  girls  at  nurse  in  these 
three  towns  as  well  as  in  the  City,  is  a good  instance  of  the 
wide  extent  of  its  beneficence.  Of  the  three,  the  settlement 
at  Hoddesdon  or  Broxbourne  was  the  least  important  and 

163 


1 64  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

was  for  girls  ; the  “ Place  House  ” at  Ware  provided  accom- 
modation for  about  180,  all  boys,  and  the  premises  at 
Hertford,  which  have  continued  on  much  the  same  site 
since  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  contained  at 
first  about  280,  of  both  sexes,  the  great  majority  being 
boys. 

In  each  place  the  Hospital,  while  it  farmed  out  the  cater- 
ing of  the  children,  made  itself  personally  responsible  for 
their  education  by  appointing  and  paying  schoolmaster  or 
mistress,  as  the  case  might  be.  The  great  difficulty  was  to 
provide  proper  supervision  of  these  dominies  at  such  a 
distance  from  headquarters.  There  are  occasional  signs 
of  a Committee  of  Governors  resident  in  the  locality,  who 
could  drop  in  casually  and  report  their  observations  to 
London.  But  in  the  end  everything  depended  upon  the 
Masters,  and  after  the  removal  to  Hertford  on  March  12th, 
1697,  of  the  “Mistris  and  Girles”  from  “ Hodsdon  ” and 
on  March  19th  of  “the  Master  and  children”  from  Ware 
(though  the  latter  was  not  a final  arrangement),  the  Hertford 
Master  had  his  hands  full.  There  were,  however,  many  more 
complaints  about  Ware  than  about  Hertford.  In  1716  it 
was  reported  that  “ the  [Ware]  children  were  restrained  from 
playing  at  seasonable  times  in  the  ffield  given  (by  Sr  Jonathan 
Raymond,  a worthy  benefactor)  for  that  purpose,  . . . and 
all  this  purely  for  the  accomodation  of  Mr  Hathaway  [the 
Master]  who  kept  a Cow  and  an  ass  in  the  said  feild,  and 
likewise  that  Mr  Hathaway  entertained  and  taught  among 
the  Hospitall  children  a great  number  of  foreign  children 
contrary  to  the  knowledge  of  this  House.”  Another  master 
in  1728  was  forbidden  to  punish  the  children  “in  an  un- 
comon  manner  or  imploy  any  of  them  in  Servile  work 
or  send  them  to  glean  corn  or  look  after  his  Geese  or 
Fowles.”  At  one  inspection  the  Governors  found  that  there 
are  compensations  for  every  disorder.  For  “whereas  May 
Johnson,  a nurse,  and  her  daughter”  were  “disguised  in 
Liquor”  and  had  to  be  reprimanded,  there  is  next  a “Note. 
The  children  at  Ware  were  catechized  and  made  their 
answers  perfectly  and  well.”  A nurse  in  1755,  who  bore 


THE  JUNIORS  AND  THE  GIRLS  165 

the  name  of  Keymer,  afterwards  so  well  known  at  Hertford 
in  another  connexion,  was  complained  of  by  her  “ children,” 
that  “ she  almost  starved  them  and  that  what  she  did  give 
them  was  very  little  and  bad,  and  that  they  for  weeks  to- 
gether had  no  small  beer  given  them,  and  that  what  they 
had  was  often  sour.”  It  is  clear  also  that  the  “ Place  House” 
was  insanitary,  with  “ stinking  and  unwholesome  water  stand- 
ing in  a well  and  overflowing,”  and  that  it  was  fairly  ruinous  ; 
for  in  1748  an  order  was  given  that  the  fronts  of  the  houses 
should  “be  Boarded  up  as  far  as  is  necessary  to  keep  out 
the  Cold.”  Nor  was  the  teaching,  which  consisted  largely 
of  reading-lessons,  very  much  better.  The  Ware  master 
of  1760  complained  that  he  could  not  secure  proper  progress, 
as  there  was  a rule  that  he  must  “ not  put  any  of  the  Children 
under  his  care  into  Writing  till  they  were  Ten  years  of  Age, 
which  he  apprehended  was  a great  hindrance  to  such  Boys 
who  had  good  Capacities.”  The  Governors  at  once  told  him 
to  begin  writing  lessons  with  the  boys  “ when  he  should 
judge  most  for  their  advantage.”  But  by  that  time  the  days 
of  the  Ware  School  were  numbered. 

The  Hertford  premises  had  been  practically  rebuilt  in  1695 
and  the  old  school-house  turned  into  an  infirmary.  In  1760 
it  was  reported  that  there  were  “ in  the  buildings  at  Hertford 
20  houses  which  have  eight  beds  in  each,  and  will  com- 
modiously  [ i.e . two  in  a bed  !]  entertain,  at  16  in  each  House, 
320  children.”  At  Hertford  and  London  together  there  were 
then  986  places,  but  only  850  children.  They  therefore 
decided  to  add  two  Houses  to  Hertford,  remove  the  Ware 
children  thither,  and  dispose  of  the  Ware  premises  altogether. 
It  was  recommended  that  this  removal  should  take  place 
“ as  soon  as  possible  whilst  the  weather  is  warm  and  the 
Days  are  long.” 

Hoddesdon  and  Ware  may  thus  be  regarded  as  un- 
satisfactory episodes.  Hertford,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a 
permanent  if  sometimes  troublesome  feature  in  the  School’s 
history.  The  responsibility,  as  already  stated,  fell  mainly  on 
the  Master.  It  was  he  who  received  an  “order  to  imploy  a 
barber  when  it’s  needfull  at  the  rate  of  Twelve  pence  p.  score 


1 66  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


to  cut  their  hair.”  It  was  he  who  had  to  keep  the  nurses 
within  the  rules,  and  he  not  seldom  failed  ; witness  a com- 
plaint made  in  1715  “that  upwards  of  One  hundred  persons, 
Lodgers  and  nurse  children,  have  entertainment  in  our 
Buildings  at  Hertford,  whereby  our  Children  suffer  much 
inconvenience.”  It  was  he  who  had  to  keep  order  within  the 
Hospital  and  “ so  take  care  that  the  Gates  be  shut  up  every 
Night  at  Nine  of  the  Clock  ” ; but  his  ways  of  doing  so  were 
often  curious.  An  “anonimous  Letter”  was  read*  to  the 
Committee  in  London,  reporting  “the  Scandal  that  the 
School  at  Hertford  lies  under  by  the  Master’s  bad  conduct 
by  puting  the  Girls  in  the  Boys  Nurses  houses,”  and  still 
more  “by  letting  the  School  to  an  Italian  Hussy  to  act 
a Droll  in  every  night,  which  Gentlemen  that  would  be 
benefactors  to  the  said  Charity  cry  out  Shame,  to  see  the 
Play  Bills  sticked  up  on  every  Post  in  the  Town.”  It  was 
not  much  wonder  that  a man  who  had  devoted  “ all  the  time 
he  could  spare  from  the  neglect  ” of  such  duties  to  the 
instruction  of  over  200  children  in  “Reading,  Writing, 
Arithmetick  and  Latin  ” should  think  himself  poorly  paid 
at  £6$  a year,  even  with  the  addition  of  “twenty  shillings 
p.  ann.  for  his  care  of  and  winding  up  the  Clock.” 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  he  was  left  entirely  to 
his  own  resources  save  for  occasional  calls  from  a local 
Governor.  From  the  earlier  days  of  the  Hertford  settlement 
right  up  to  recent  times  it  has  been  the  custom  of  the 
Governors  to  pay  a formal  visit  of  inspection  once  a year 
to  the  children  in  the  country.  The  mistake  made  was  that 
they  mostly  gave  notice  of  their  coming  and  that  for  many 
years  they  might  confidently  be  expected  during  the  early 
days  of  March.  The  money  to  pay  the  nurses  was  sent 
regularly  by  stage  coach.  “Kyffin  Phillips,  who  keeps  [1769] 
one  of  the  Hertford  Stage-Coaches,”  was  employed  to  carry 
this  money,  " being  paid  two  shillings  for  carriage  of  each 
Parcel  of  Money  at  his  own  Risque.”  But  the  visiting 
Governors  disdained  the  ordinary  “ Stage.”  They  have 
left  a record  of  the  exact  details  of  their  various  journeys 


December,  1757. 


THE  JUNIORS  AND  THE  GIRLS  167 

in  the  “View  Books.”  The  party  consisted  generally  of 
the  Treasurer,  two  or  more  Governors,  a clerk,  a beadle, 
and  the  Treasurer’s  servant.  They  would  set  off  early  in 
the  morning,  generally  about  six  o’clock,  from  “ the  Moor- 
gate  Coffee  House  ” in  “ a coach  and  four  horses,”  and  would 
reach  Hertford  before  noon.  On  arrival  they  went  into 
the  schools  and  examined  the  children  in  reading  and 
writing,  an  ordeal  out  of  which  the  children  often  came 
very  badly.  In  this  way  they  picked  out  a number  of 
scholars,  about  fifty  boys  and  a score  of  girls,  as  being  fit 
to  be  moved  up  to  the  London  school,  whither  they  departed 
“by  waggon”  a few  days  later.  Then  the  Governors  visited 
the  various  houses,  paying  special  attention  to  the  bedding 
and  the  general  cleanliness,  and  showing  their  displeasure 
if  they  found,  as  they  sometimes  did,  that  three  boys  were 
put  to  sleep  in  one  bed.  Their  next  inquiry  was  about 
the  food.  One  report  says  they  “ enquired  strictly,  taking 
every  Nurses  children  by  themselves,  whether  they  had  their 
Bellies  full  of  Victuals,  and  they  all  declared  with  much 
chearfulness  they  had  as  much  as  they  could  eat.”  Some- 
times a young  rascal  would  aver  that  he  was  starved,  and 
after  much  cross-examination  explain  his  lie  by  “ his  desire 
of  being  removed  to  London,”  the  Mecca  of  every  Hertford 
“ Blue.”  Then,  unless  it  was  necessary  (as  it  often  was) 
to  go  up  to  the  old  parish  church,  several  years  ago  con- 
sumed by  fire,  in  order  to  consult  with  the  churchwardens 
about  an  alteration  in  the  west-gallery,  where  the  “ Blues  ” 
sat  on  Sundays,  the  visitors  would  have  their  dinner,  mount 
their  coach,  and  drive  off  “through  the  Park”  to  Ware, 
putting  up  for  the  night  “at  the  Bull  Inn.”  Next  morning 
they  went  through  a similar  inspection  of  the  school  there, 
and  “ so  home  to  bed  ” in  London. 

This  book  is  not  a history  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  Hertford, 
but  it  would  not  be  fair  to  omit  this  short  rec'ord  of  the 
preparatory  school  which  started  life  as  a creche.  Up  to 
1891,  with  very  few  exceptions,  every  boy  admitted  to  the 
foundation  was  obliged  to  make  a short  stay  at  Hertford. 
If  he  was  precociously  quick  or  very  advanced  in  his  studies, 


1 68  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


his  sojourn  there  might  be  a matter  of  weeks.  If  he  was 
abnormally  dull,  it  was  prolonged  till  he  was  sent  up,  as  we 
used  to  say,  “ for  age,”  on  the  principle  that,  as  he  was  never 
likely  to  learn  much,  he  would  only  get  into  mischief  and 
“ corrupt  other.”  But  the  new  Scheme  has  deprived  the 
“ competition  wallahs  ” of  any  visit  to  Hertford.  They 
come  straight  to  the  London  School,  and  the  number  of 
boys  in  the  country  has  been  correspondingly  reduced. 
Moreover,  the  future  will  sever  the  boys’  school  from  Hert- 
ford altogether,  for  it  has  been  recently  decided  that  the 
preparatory  school  shall  accompany  the  main  body  to  West 
Horsham,  where  a house  is  being  built  for  it.  The  Hertford 
site  will  then  be  entirely  occupied  by  the  girls  of  the  founda- 
tion. 

THE  GIRLS’  SCHOOL 

This  therefore  will  be  a convenient  place  in  which  to  give 
some  account  of  the  Girls’  School,  which  is  coeval  with  the 
Boys’  School,  though  it  has  never  been  of  the  same  im- 
portance nor  attained  the  same  publicity ; indeed  a recent 
correspondent  of  The  Times  (March  14th,  1901)  denied  its 
very  existence  “except  on  paper.”  But  by  no  sort  of  justice 
can  the  Annals  of  Christ’s  Hospital  exclude  some  notice 
of  it,  though  it  has  been  the  lordly  fashion  of  “ Blues  ” 
male  to  think  foul  scorn  of  “ Blues  ” female ; and  I can 
remember,  so  arrant  is  the  snobbery  of  youth,  that  in  our 
estimation  a fellow  “ lost  caste  ” if  he  happened  to  have  a 
sister  on  the  foundation.  In  the  same  vein  Trollope  lets 
them  down  gently  by  saying  that  they  were  made  fit  for 
“ the  humbler  walks  of  life  wherein  they  may  be  expected  to 
move.” 

But  the  worthy  Governors  entertained  no  such  prejudice 
in  old  times.  From  the  first  they  laid  themselves  out  to 
assist  helpless  children  of  both  sexes,  as  various  instances 
have  already  shown.  In  their  records  of  their  work,  the 
phrase  they  most  commonly  use  is  “ the  children  of  this 
House,”  and  from  1553  to  1776  the  House  in  London 
included  both  sexes  impartially.  I have  been  unable  to 
discover  in  what  part  of  the  buildings  the  girls  were  lodged 


THE  JUNIORS  AND  THE  GIRLS  169 

previously  to  the  Fire,  but  it  is  certain  that  after  the  Tiie 
accommodation  was  found  for  them  in  the  splendid  brick 
building  erected  by  Sir  Robert  Clayton  over  the  “Giffs.” 
They  attended  Christ  Church  and  acted  mutes  at  “ Burials,” 
like  the  boys,  and  for  a century  and  a half  they  had  their 
meals  in  Hall  at  the  same  time  as  the  rest  of  the  school, 
a perilous  arrangement  which,  nevertheless,  does  not  appear 
to  have  led  to  any  quarrelling.  It  came  to  an  end  in  1703, 
because  there  was  not  sufficient  room,  as  the  following  order 
shows : “ Whereas  now  the  number  of  the  Children  are 
enlarged  the  Tables  in  the  Hall  are  not  sufficient  for  them 
all  to  sit  down  at  Meales  without  being  very  much  crowded, 
It  is  ordered  that  the  Girles  shall  dyet  in  their  Ward,  there 
being  a convenient  Table  there  for  that  purpose,  and  that 
the  King’s  Ward  boyes  shall  be  removed  up  to  the  Girles 
Table.”  It  would  even  appear  that  for  certain  purposes 
they  went  to  school  in  the  same  room  as  the  boys.  For 
there  is  an  order  of  1710  that  “the  Girles  shall  noe  longer 
goe  to  the  Writing  School  to  learn  to  write,  but  that  some 
conveniency  shall  be  made  in  their  own  school  for  their 
Writing,  and  that  the  Writing  Master  shall  send  his  serv1 
\i.e.  his  apprentice]  to  instruct  them  at  such  hours  as  shall  be 
thought  most  convenient.” 

As  a rule  the  Girls’  School  gave  very  little  trouble,  and 
the  rewards  frequently  voted  to  the  Mistresses  imply  the 
constant  satisfaction  of  the  Governors.  There  was,  however, 
an  amusing  exception  in  the  case  of  Mistress  Lorrain,  who 
was  in  office  when  the  change  just  mentioned  took  place. 
At  the  “ Visitacon  ” of  April  1715,  the  Treasurer  had  to 
remark  openly  on  “the  unruly  and  disorderly  carriage  and 
behaviour  of  the  Girls,”  and  he  put  it  down  to  the  fact  that 
Mrs.  Lorrain  “ did  not  her  duty  as  she  ought  to  doe  ; which 
being  officiously  carryed  to  her  within  two  or  three  hours 
after,  Mr  Paul  Lorrain  her  husband  came  to  [the  Treasurer’s] 
House  and  treated  him  in  a very  unbecoming  and  dis- 
respectfull  manner,  telling  him  he  had  acted  like  a knave 
to  speak  of  his  wife  behind  her  back  to  that  effect.”  So 
husband  and  wife  “ had  notice  to  attend  the  Committee,  and 


i7o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


she  accordingly  attending  (her  husband  not  present)”  re- 
ceived her  conge  on  the  spot.  It  is  not  surprising  that  a few 
years  later  (1767),  when  the  Committee  set  forth  the 
qualifications  necessary  for  a schoolmistress,  they  should 
not  only  exclude  those  who  were  under  thirty-five  or  over 
fifty,  but  also  anyone  who  “is  a marryed  woman.”  It  was 
arranged  at  the  same  time  that  the  candidates  should  “ be 
examined  by  the  Upper  Gramar  Master  as  to  their  ability 
of  Teaching  to  Read,  Spel,  &c.  and  by  the  Matron  as  to 
their  Ability  in  Teaching  Needle  and  other  works  usually 
Taught  in  the  said  School,”  the  Treasurer  to  act  as  duenna 
at  both  examinations. 

The  duenna-like  proposal  of  a former  Treasurer 
(Nathaniel  Hawes),  in  1684,  “that  some  of  the  girles 
might  be  taught  to  knitt,  which  motion  was  laid  aside  at 
present,”  suggests  the  question  of  the  sort  of  needlework 
done  by  the  girls.  Their  dormitory  in  London  was,  as  else- 
where recorded,*  close  to  the  cutting-room  and  the  Ward- 
robe, and  it  is  fairly  certain  that  from  early  times  they  were 
employed  (possibly  at  one  time  in  common  with  the  boys) 
in  making  the  clothing  for  the  Foundation.  “ The  Children’s 
coates,  petticoates,  and  other  things,”  says  a minute  of  1637, 
“ weare  alwayes  made  by  the  children  of  this  house  in  the 
Taylor’s  shopp,”  and  an  arrangement  is  at  the  same  time 
concluded  with  the  Tailor.  He  is  to  receive  “x1-  p.  ann.” 
“for  the  cutting  out  of  all  the  said  coates  and  trayning 
up  the  said  children  to  make  and  ffinish  them.”  Further 
“this  house  shall  bee  at  the  charge  of  Thredd,  Needles,  and 
Thymbles,  for  the  doing  of  the  said  worke,  but  the  sheeres 
and  Pressing  Irons  hee  is  to  find  at  his  owne  charges.” 
The  statement  that  such  had  “ alwayes  ” been  the  case  must 
be  compared  with  the  facts  which  can  be  gathered  from  still 
earlier  Court  Books.  These  show  that  the  children  were 
taught  trades.  In  1562  four  children  were  sent  to  Bridewell 
to  learn  a trade,  having  their  meals  provided  at  Christ’s 
Hospital.  A little  later  a place  is  to  be  provided  in  the 
Hospital,  where  a dozen  children  are  to  be  taught  to  make 

* See  p.  49. 


A GROUP  OF  GIRLS  IN  VERRIO'S  PICTURE 

COPYRIGHT,  MR.  CHARLES  \V.  CAREY 


THE  JUNIORS  AND  THE  GIRLS  171 

thread  and  spin  flax.  A tapestry  maker  is  granted  a room, 
and  there  is  an  agreement  with  him  to  teach  two  children. 
So  also  with  a maker  of  Turkey  carpets.  In  1574  one 
“ Nicholas  Van  Buescum,  a pynne  maker,”  asked  the 
Corporation  to  allow  him  “a  convenyent  place  within 
thospitall  of  St.  Thomas  or  Brydewell  to  make  pynnes, 
and  there  to  teache  and  instructe  certeyn  of  the  poore 
children  of  Chriesties  Hospitall  in  the  sayd  arte  of  makynge 
of  pynnes.”  Finally,  I think  the  part  that  the  girls  took  in 
making  the  clothes  required  for  the  Hospital  is  fairly  proved 
by  various  entries  subsequent  to  their  removal  to  Hertford. 
One  states  (October  1780)  that  it  is  thought  well  to  increase 
the  number  of  girls  in  the  school,  it  being  “ necessary  to 
have  a sufficient  number  to  do  the  work  with  ease,  that  they 
may  sometimes  have  an  opportunity  of  being  exercised 
in  finer  work.”  Sewing  coats,  that  is  to  say,  is  all  very  well, 
but  why  may  we  not  crochet,  for  a change  ? Another  (dated 
March  nth,  1801)  mentions  that  there  were  then  only  60 
girls  in  the  school  instead  of  100,  and  that  22  would  be 
leaving  during  the  year.  “Also,”  it  goes  on,  “from  the 
smallness  of  the  present  number,  already  daily  diminishing, 
a considerable  portion  of  the  House  work  was  necessarily 
placed  out.”  Accordingly,  in  November  1802,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  girls  should  stay  in  the  school  till  they 
were  15,  instead  of  14,  “being  for  the  last  year  made 
acquainted  with  household  affairs.”  We  can  thus  believe 
Trollope’s  statement  that  in  his  time  “part  of  their  occupa- 
tion consists  in  making  the  linen  both  of  the  boys  and  them- 
selves.” 

The  removal  of  all  the  girls  to  Hertford  was  first  proposed 
in  1776.  It  was  then  urged  that  there  was  “great  want  of 
Room”  in  the  Hospital  in  London,  and  that  the  remedy 
might  be  found  in  “building  Nurseries  for  all  the  Girls  upon 
the  ground  late  in  lease  to  Mr  Whittenbury  by  which  means 
the  Girls’  Ward  in  London  will  be  disengaged  and  may  be 
employed  for  the  entertainment  of  seventy  Boys.”  The 
project  was  approved.  In  1778  a “Writing  and  Arithme- 
tick  Master”  was  appointed  for  them  “when  they  come  to 


172  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Hertford,”  his  special  qualification  being  that  he  “ is  a 
married  man  of  very  Regular  Behaviour  and  fair  character,” 
and  in  the  following  year,  when  the  Visitors  drove  down 
in  their  coach  and  four,  they  were  able  to  examine  the  girls 
in  the  school  which  has  been  their  abode  ever  since.  The 
Girls’  School  has  had  its  ups  and  downs  between  that  day 
and  this.  But  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  Charity  Com- 
missioners reported  in  1837  a remark  of  the  then  Treasurer 
(Mr.  Pigeon)  that  the  Girls’  School  “ is  considered  as  the 
most  perfect  branch  of  the  whole  establishment.” 

The  Charity  Commissioners  of  the  present  day,  much  as 
they  have  done  to  cripple  the  old  Foundation,  may  take 
credit  for  their  efforts  in  behalf  of  this  “most  perfect  branch.” 
Under  its  talented  Head  Mistress  the  Girls’  School  has 
undergone  a remarkable  development  in  recent  years.  As 
soon  as  Horsham  is  ready  for  the  boys,  the  Hertford  building 
will  be  wholly  given  over  to  the  girls.  Not  the  least  remark- 
able feature  about  them  is  their  keen  and  patriotic  interest  in 
everything  that  affects  the  welfare  of  the  Foundation  and  the 
prosperity  of  all  who  love  it. 


CHAPTER  X. 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 


S a Religious  Foundation  Christ’s  Hospital  reveres  the 


Divine  Authority  which  tells  it  that  “ the  life  is  more 
than  the  food  and  the  body  than  the  raiment.”  Yet  in 
actual  practice  most  schoolboys  may  be  pardoned  for  putting 
their  gloss  on  the  first  clause,  and  the  world  in  general 
agrees  that  the  circumstances  of  Christ’s  Hospital  will  make 
it  natural  to  dwell  a little  on  the  second.  Both  of  them 
deserve  more  than  ordinary  consideration,  inasmuch  as  they 
have  been  freely  bestowed  without  payment  on  every  genera- 
tion of  “ Blues  ” (save  the  one  now  in  existence),  and  that 
portion  of  the  fees'  now  allowed  by  the  Scheme  to  be  de- 
manded of  parents,  which  can  be  made  to  represent  the 
cost  of  food  and  clothing,  is  not  large  enough  either  to 
recompense  the  authorities  for  what  they  bestow  or  to  en- 
courage a boy  to  imagine  that  he  pays  for  what  he  receives. 
In  the  matter  of  food,  therefore,  as  well  as  of  raiment,  the 
“Blue”  has  always  stood  on  different  ground  to  that  of 
the  ordinary  public-school  boy,  whose  parents  pay  for  his 
“keep”  and  find  themselves  expected  to  resort  to  “hampers” 
in  addition. 

It  is  only  fair  to  those  who  have  so  freely  devoted  their  time 
to  the  care  of  the  children  to  say  that  from  the  first  it  was 
never  from  lack  of  diligence  in  the  Committee  if  food  was 
scanty  or  inferior.  The  earliest  Governors,  as  we  have  seen, 
received  into  their  Hospital  the  starvelings  of  the  City  streets. 


173 


174  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


They  were  mostly  men  engaged  in  trade  and  commerce,  and 
the  supplying  of  provisions  “on  the  best  terms  possible”  (the 
phrase  is  their  own)  was  a matter  that  they  understood  more 
clearly  than  they  did  their  Latin  Grammar,  and  they  have 
left  us  a beautifully  written  and  fairly  detailed  account  of 
the  earliest  outlay  in  this  respect.  The  “Annual  Accompt” 
shows  first  what  was  spent  on  adapting  the  “Grey  Friars” 
to  scholastic  uses,  and  the  moment  the  children  are  admitted 
in  November  1552  there  is  a heading  called  “ Acates”  (a  word 
which  is  obviously  related  to  the  French  achat).  The  modern 
Lawsonian  must  not  be  scandalised  if  the  first  item  of  all 
was  “ Beare,  iiju  vj8  viijd,”  and  if  a mere  trifle  was  spent 
on  “ Mylke,”  and  “ Butyer.”  At  least  there  was  over  ten 
pounds’  worth  of  Mutton,  and  “ Beof  ” to  the  value  of  seven 
guineas,  for  the  first  month.  To  these  December  added 
“ whytinge  and  ffyshe  (xa  iiij8  xd),”  and  there  are  signs  of 
further  variety  in  the  entry  “Acates  of  all  kyndes.xxxj11  vj8  iiijd.” 
February  and  March  of  1553  followed  out  the  same  metiu, 
save  for  “hearinge  and  other  ffyshe”  in  the  one  and  “playse” 
in  the  other.  The  bread  bill  came  in  during  the  autumn 
of  1553,  when  there  was  “Paid  to  Mr.  Cleyton  Baker  for 
Breade  spente  in  this  House  from  the  tyme  of  the  erection 
thereof  which  was  in  Novembre  A0  1552  unto  Septembre 
A0  1553  . . . ca.”  They  also  paid  in  January  1554  “for  cliiij 
gallons  of  Milk”  at  the  rate  of  “iijd”  a gallon. 

After  this  the  accounts  begin  to  lose  their  earlier  details, 
and  the  Governors  were  evidently  developing  a system  of 
paying  to  nurses  and  others  a weekly  sum  “per  capita” 
for  the  board  of  the  children,  especially  those  in  the  In- 
firmary. It  was  a plan  which  did  not,  and  did  not  deserve 
to,  last  any  great  time.  The  only  hope  of  efficiency  and 
economy  lay  in  the  system  of  contracts  which  has  prevailed 
practically  throughout.  It  may  be  noted,  as  a sign  of  the 
partnership  of  interest  between  the  Royal  Hospitals,  that 
in  November  1557  it  was  resolved  : “that  the  bread  to  serue 
this  house  shalbe  made  hereafter  at  Bridewell,  and  to  delyver 
iii  loves  for  iid  and  everye  loof  to  contain  xx  ounz  until  meale 
be  solde  in  the  markette  of  London  for  xs  the  quarter,  and 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING  175 

then  to  scruc  iiii  loofes  for  ii^  after  the  rate  of  the  ounse 
aforesaid.” 

The  same  carefulness  entered  into  their  arrangement  of  the 
meat  contracts.  In  1593  “William  Hawer  bucher  is  agreed 
withall  to  serve  this  House  with  beefe,  mutton,  and  veale 
for  one  whole  year  to  Shrowetide  1593,  .and  the  same  to 
be  holsom  and  good,  the  bones  to  be  taken  out  of  the  beafe 
and  he  to  have  xid  p.  ston.  for  witness  whereof  he  hath  put 
his  mark” — a big  bald  H.  By  1675  the  price  of  “Buttock 
fflanck  and  chuck  beefe  ” had  risen  to  “ 2s  p.  stone,”  and  in 
1769  the  butcher  of  the  day  undertook  to  supply  beef, 
mutton,  veal  and  pork  “ at  two  shillings  and  three  pence  per 
stone.”  The  last-mentioned  contract  specified  that  “the 
roasting  Beef”  should  be  “ middle  Ribs  without  the  gristle 
or  tops,  two  Ribs  only  being  cut  off  the  fore  Ribbs,  & the 
Hospital  having  the  four  next  Ribs  of  a large  ox,  and 
the  next  five  of  a small  Ox.”  It  was,  of  course,  as  it 
still  is,  the  duty  of  the  Steward  to  keep  an  eye  on  the 
purveyor.  According  to  an  order  of  1638,  he  was  to  see 
the  meat  “ weighed  at  the  Butchers  ” and  later  “ weighed  into 
the  Chaldron  ” and  later  still  “ hee  shall  weigh  it  when  it 
shall  be  boyled.”  The  same  order  adds  that  “ the  nurse  for 
every  child  that  is  wanting  at  every  meale.  shall  returne  unto 
the  Steward  the  allowance  of  bread  cheese  butter  & beefe, 
and  hee  to  give  an  accompt  of  the  same,”  which  reminds 
me  that  my  first  “Dame”  at  the  Hospital  had  a rather 
mythical  cat  with  a voracious  appetite  for  tit-bits  from  the 
plat  du  jour.  The  standing  side-dish  of  the  seventeenth  and 
early  eighteenth  centuries  was  a mysterious  something  called 
“ Pudding  Pyes,”  the  contracts  for  which  occur  again  and 
again  in  the  minutes,  being  left  for  many  years  in  the  hands 
of  a firm  called  Sturt.  The  committee  had  Mr.  Sturt  up 
in  1684  and  “told  him  all  the  ingredients  for  making  the 
said  puddings  were  very  cheape,  and  therefore  expected  he 
should  abate  of  the  prise  he  had  received.”  Sturt  urged 
against  any  abatement  that  “he  made  the  comodity  very 
good  and  that  severall  Governors  upon  view  had  approved 
of  the  same.”  Indeed  “he  would  make  it  appeare  that  he 


176  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST'S  HOSPITAL 


is  a looser  rather  than  a gainer,”  but  he  only  got  his  contract 
by  “allowing  13  to  the  dozen  at  I2d.”  In  1699,  he  was  told 
that  the  articles  supplied  were  to  be  “ good  cleanly  wholsom 
pudding  pyes,”  each  “ to  weigh  (after  it  is  baked)  eight 
ounces  at  least  Avoirdupois  weight.”  But  in  1712  these 
luxuries  paid  the  penalty  of  price  and  unpopularity.  “Take- 
ing  into  their  consideracon  the  expense  of  Puding  Pyes  for 
the  Children  and  the  Dislike  they  have  thereto,”  the  Com- 
mittee discharged  “ Mre  Paul  als  Sturt  ” (for  she  had 
apparently  married  again  and  “kept  on  the  business”)  and 
substituted  bread  and  cheese.  I grieve  to  say  that  the 
contract  for  cheese  fell  to  a Governor  at  “ three  pence  p. 
pound.” 

It  will  now  be  well  to  give  some  details  as  to  the  daily 
menu  and  its  gradual  transformation.  The  fare  for  each 
week  was  settled  in  1678,  as  follows: — 


‘ Sunday,  noone — boyled  beefe  and  poradge  with  50Z  of 

bread. 

att  night — Roast  mutton.  [The  Public  Supping] 

Monday,  noone — Water  grewell  with  currants, 

night — cheese. 

Tuesday,  noone — boyled  beef. 

night — cheese. 

Wednesday,  noone— Milk  porrage  bread  & butter. 

night — pudding  pyes  without  bread. 

Thursday,  noone — Boyled  beef. 

night — cheese. 

ffryday,  noone — milk  porrage  bread  & butter. 

night — pudding  pyes  without  bread. 

Saturday — milk  porrage  with  bread  & butter  at  noone. 

night — cheese. 

Every  morning  2\  oz.  of  bread  and  a supp  of  drink. 

5 oz.  of  bread  att  every  meal,  dynner  & supper.’ 


The  first  change  in  this  arrangement  was  proposed  in 
1684,  it  being  suggested  that  “boyled  Rice”  might  be  a 
useful  alternative  for  cheese.  The  suggestion  required  con- 
siderable discussion  with  the  officers.  The  Steward  had  to 
be  asked  “what  a meale  of  Rice  will  stand  this  Hospitall 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 


1 77 


in,”  and  the  Doctor  and  the  Apothecary  were  called  upon  to 
give  advice  from  their  point  of  view.  The  Steward’s  report 
is  not  on  record,  but  that  of  the  Doctor  and  the  Apothecary 
stated  that  “it  hath  pleased  God  to  bless  the  children  of 
this  house  with  a great  deale  of  health,”  there  being  then 
only  three  children  in  the  Sick  Ward  out  of  350.  So  the 
status  quo  prevailed.  Two  years  later  an  order  was  passed 
substituting  “Beanes  in  the  roome  of  Water-gruel”  on  “two 
severall  dayes.”  Another  two  years,  and  a sub-committee 
of  medical  men  was  earnestly  occupied  with  further  changes. 
“A  meale  of  Rice  once  a week  instead  of  Water-gruel” 
being  decided  on,  the  Committee  ordered  on  January  5th, 
1689,  that  “a  quantity  of  Rice  of  about  a Tonn  should  be 
provided  at  the  best  hand.”  After  six  weeks’  trial  of  this, 
it  was  proposed  “ that  the  children  should  have  buttered 
wheate  for  dinners  & abate  one  meale  of  Rice,  it  being 
cheaper  and  much  wholsomer.  Wherupon  the  Comee  are 
of  opinion  that  they  may  have  two  meales  of  wheate  in 
a weeke  (except  during  Lent)  & one  of  Rice  and  noe  Water- 
gruel.”  But  in  1694  there  was  trouble  in  the  rice  market ; 
“no  Rice  to  be  had  upon  any  Termes  whatever”;  and  this 
time  its  place  is  taken  by  “ barley-broth  with  a few  basket 
Rasons  in  it  ” and  by  “ pease  pottage  every  ffryday.”  Still 
they  never  allowed  that  the  “ dyett  ” of  their  young  charges 
had  reached  perfection.  In  1706  they  were  concerned  about 
Wednesday’s  menu,  conceiving  that  there  was  a lack  of  bread 
about  it — “only  two  ounces  and  a half  of  bread  all  that 
day,  which  is  at  breakfast,  at  Dinner  each  of  them  a dish  of 
ffirmity,  and  at  Supper  a pudding  pye.”  The  remedy  was 
to  have  “an  addition  of  half  a loafe  and  one  ounce  of 
Butter.” 

The  fattest  of  the  children’s  days  was  Sunday,  when  they 
had  meat  twice,  and  when  their  digestion  seems  to  have 
suffered  by  comparison  with  leaner  days.  The  Roast 
Mutton  at  supper  could  not  be  abandoned  for  the  credit 
of  the  House,  as  at  that  time  the  British  Public  was  present 
in  force  to  see  them  feed.  So  in  1708  came  the  question 
“what  spoon  meat  may  be  most  proper  for  the  children’s 


173  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


dinner  on  Sundays  instead  of  the  boyled  beef,”  and  the 
solution  took  the  less  substantial  shape  of  “ milk  with  bread 
boyled  in  it.”  However  “from  thence  sundry  inconveniences 
have  arisen  ” and  the  “ boyled  beef”  was  reinstated.  But 
it  took  the  Governors  till  1721  to  realise  that  “the  Dyett 
from  Thursday  Noon  to  Sunday  Noon  was  only  Bread 
Butter  and  Cheese  Pease  Porridge  and  Water  gruell”  and 
that  “ the  same  ought  in  some  way  to  be  amended.”  So 
the  Committee  proposed  to  insert  somewhere  during  that 
very  lean  part  of  the  week  a meal  of  “ Leggs  and  Lynns 
of  Mutton  Boyled,”  and  when  the  matter  was  taken  before 
the  highest  tribunal,  the  Court  agreed,  but  left  the  choice 
of  joints  to  the  Treasurer. 

It  has  been  the  custom  to  abuse  the  diet  at  the  Hospital 
in  far  more  recent  times  than  those  here  referred  to,  but 
enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  civic  worthies  who 
administered  the  affairs  of  the  Hospital  were  ready  to  go 
to  the  limit  of  their  finances  in  making  reasonable  changes. 
That  the  portions  given  to  each  boy  were  never  excessive  is 
only  too  likely,  but  Lamb  tells  us,  what  everyone’s  ex- 
perience will  justify  at  Christ’s  Hospital  and  elsewhere, 
that  a “more  than  Judaic  rigour”  prevented  the  youngsters 
from  eating  “ gags  ” and  “ certain  kinds  of  sweet  cake.” 
Both  Lamb  and  Leigh  Hunt,  however,  can  be  quoted  to 
show  that  the  fare  at  the  Public  Suppers  had  ceased  in  their 
day  to  include  meat.  Lamb  says  that  “ the  well-lighted 
hall  ” looked  “ more  like  a concert  or  assembly  than  a scene 
of  a plain  bread-and-cheese  collation,”  and  Leigh  Hunt 
records  a tradition  “ that  during  the  blissful  era  of  the  blue 
velvet,  we  had  roast  mutton  for  supper.”  The  locus  classicus 
on  the  subject  of  the  week’s  diet  is  of  course  the  opening 
lines  of  “Christ’s  Hospital  Five  and  Thirty  Years  Ago,” 
which  should  be  compared  with  the  list  already  given  for 
1684,  just  a century  earlier  than  Lamb’s  time.  There  was 
still  “milk  porritch,  blue  and  tasteless,”  and  pease-soup 
“ coarse  and  choking.”  The  “ Wednesday’s  mess  of  millett  ” 
is  perhaps  the  “fifirmity”  of  1706,  and  “we  had  three  banyan 
to  four  meat  days  in  the  week.”  Lamb  admits  that  he 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING  179 

is  here  making  the  most  of  his  haidships,  but  his  two  friends 
are  equally  emphatic.  “Our  food,”  Coleridge  wrote  to 
Mr.  Toole,  “was  portioned,  and,  excepting  on  Wednesdays, 

I never  had  a bellyfull.  Our  appetites  were  damped,  never 
satisfied  ; and  we  had  no  vegetables.”  But  it  is  fair  to  say 
that  in  1832  he  writes  of  such  starvation  at  the  School  as 
being  an  affair  of  the  past.  Leigh  Hunt,  the  third  of  the 
great  literary  trio,  records  that  “we  were  not  well  fed  at 
that  time,  either  in  quantity  or  quality.  . . . Our  breakfast 
was  bread  and  water,  for  the  beer  was  too  bad  to  drink. 

• • • Meat  only  every  other  day,  and  that  consisting  of  a 
small  slice,  such  as  would  be  given  to  an  infant  three  or 
four  years  old.  . . . Twice  a year  (I  blush  to  think  of  the 
eagerness  with  which  it  was  looked  for !)  a dinner  of  pork.” 
Leigh  Hunt  did  not  apparently  know  that  he  owed  the 
last  orgie  to  the  express  directions  of  a donor  of  £250  in 
the  year  1734,  who  desired  to  inaugurate  a dinner  of  “either 
pork  or  veal  Roasted  or  Boyled  as  [the  Governors]  thought 
propper.”  I am  able  to  supplement  this  criticism  by  an 
account  I obtained  a year  or  two  ago  from  my  old  friend 
Mr.  Deputy  Cox  of  Newgate  Street,  who  has  since  gone 
to  his  rest  at  a ripe  old  age.  He  entered  Christ’s  Hospital 
just  thirty  years  after  Lamb  left  it.  He  too  had  meat, 
he  told  me,  only  on  four  days  of  the  week.  It  “was  served 
on  wooden  trenchers,  and,  though  good,  it  was  generally 
dry” ; but  he  backs  up  the  evidence  of  the  others  by  adding 
that  “ there  was  not  sufficient  for  big  boys  ; all  were  served 
alike,  and  there  was  no  asking  for  more.”  Nevertheless 
the  hale  old  Deputy  used  to  attribute  his  vigour  at  ninety 
years  of  age  to  the  fact  that  he  had  breakfasted  at  School  on 
bread  and  water. 

Great  changes  have  taken  place  since  Deputy  Cox’s  school 
days.  The  wooden  trenchers  and  the  wooden  spoons  have 
retired  to  the  Museum.  I was  myself  in  at  the  death  of 
the  latter  at  Hertford  in  1875.  “Small  beer,”  or  any  other 
kind  of  beer  is  no  longer  served  out  as  a matter  of  course,  as 
it  was  in  my  time,  and  the  programme  for  the  week,  which 
by  the  kindness  of  the  present  Steward,  Mr.  A.  VV.  Lockhart, 


i8o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


I am  enabled  to  set  off  against  that  of  the  year  1678,  is 
an  intimation  that  if  the  young  gentlemen  are  not  satisfied, 
they  ought  to  be ! Mr.  Lockhart  has  detailed  for  me  the 
dinners  provided  for  the  school  during  the  week  beginning 
July  7th,  1901,  and  for  the  sake  of  brevity  I will  take  the 
fare  of  Ward  II.  in  which  I was  formerly  “Grecian.”  On 
Sunday  they  had  lamb  and  mint  sauce,  with  new  potatoes, 
stewed  gooseberries  and  custard.  On  Monday,  mutton  with 
new  potatoes  and  green  peas,  with  cheese  to  follow.  On 
Tuesday  fried  lemon-soles  and  new  potatoes,  and  boiled 
jam  pudding.  Wednesday  was  a “leave”  and  those  who 
stayed  in  school  had  beef,  new  potatoes,  and  cheese.  Thurs- 
day gave  them  lamb  and  beef  with  lettuce  and  cheese. 
Friday,  beef  and  mutton  with  new  potatoes  and  summer 
cabbages,  and  cheese.  Saturday,  beef  and  mutton  with  new 
potatoes,  and  cheese. 

There  is  one  aspect  of  the  food  question,  in  which  most 
boys  are  interested,  namely,  the  possibility  of  buying  what 
is  technically  termed  “tuck.”  Reference  is  made  elsewhere* 
to  a woman  who  combined  “ cobbling”  with  the  keeping  of  a 
tuck-shop  in  1666,  and  who  evidently  sold  drink  as  well  as 
food  to  the  children.  But  from  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  Governors  appear  to  have  set  their  face  against 
any  such  traffic,  which  they  took  as  a personal  insult  to  their 
commissariat.  Thus  in  1684  “ Mr  Bennett,  smith,  and  Mr 
Court,  translator  to  this  House,  both  living  within  the  bounds 
of  this  house,  did  dayly  practice  ” the  selling  of  “ drink, 
bread,  and  fruit  within  the  bounds  ...  to  the  children,  as 
if  they  had  not  enough  allowed  them  for  their  dayly  sub- 
sistance.”  The  culprits  clearly  did  not  take  the  indignation 
of  the  Committee  very  seriously,  for  they  requested  three 
months’  grace  in  which  “ to  dispose  of  such  things  as  they 
had  on  their  hands,  after  which  they  would  take  in  no  more 
beere.”  But  the  order  was  peremptory ; they  must  stop  at 
once.  Court,  by  the  way,  was  an  unmitigated  pluralist,  for 
in  addition  to  his  tuck-shop,  he  was  the  “ translator  ” or 
cobbler,  and  he  received  an  additional  stipend  for  looking 

* See  p.  252. 


THE  GIFFS  AND  JOHNNY'S 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING  181 

after  the  School  Clock.  Again,  in  1700,  a beadle  pleaded 
for  “ the  same  liberty  his  predecessor  had  for  his  wife  to  sell 
apples  ginger  bread  and  other  small  things  at  their  door 
[probably  in  the  Cloisters],  To  him  the  Committee  most 
solemnly  replied  with  a resolution  “ that  neither  Simpson 
nor  any  other  officer  or  person  whatsoever  shall  sell  or  cause 
to  be  sold  anything  within  the  Verge  of  this  house  that’s 
eatable  or  drinkable  to  any  of  the  children.”  At  the  same 
time  they  instructed  the  Steward  to  forbid  the  children  to 
buy.  But  even  while  this  fiat  was  in  force  a Governor  stated 
that  he  “ has  for  some  time  observed  that  Pemberton  one  of 
the  Beadles  or  his  wife  drives  a Trade  in  his  House  of  selling 
Apples,  Plumb-pudding,  white-pot,  and  many  other  things 
amongst  the  children  ” ; and  again  the  Governors  stood  on 
their  dignity,  contending  that  this  “tends  not  only  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  children’s  health,  but  alsoe  is  a disreputation 
and  scandall  to  the  House,  it  looking  as  if  the  children  wanted 
victualls.”  The  fact  is,  of  course,  that  the  Governors  were 
attempting  the  impossible.  The  Hospital  at  the  time  was  an 
absolute  thoroughfare  to  which  hawkers  could  get  admission 
like  anyone  else,  and  the  beadles  no  doubt  reasoned  that  they 
might  as  well  have  the  advantage  of  any  trade  that  was 
going.  The  only  remedy  was  the  one  afterwards  adopted 
of  organising  the  tuck-trade,  a system  of  profit-sharing  being 
introduced  in  1799.  Thereafter  the  minutes  of  the  Com- 
mittee for  some  years  contain  a half-yearly  statement  of 
what  had  been  earned  by  “the  sale  of  Fruit  and  other  Articles 
to  the  Children.”  The  first  six  months  showed  a profit  of 
^55,  the  second  of  £57,  and  in  two  years  the  results  had 
risen  to  nearly  £200  annually.  The  division  was  made  on 
the  principle  that  two  beadles  who  sold  the  “ Articles  ” re- 
ceived 5 per  cent,  on  their  sales,  and  the  balance  was  equally 
distributed  among  the  six  beadles.  Trollope  adds  the 
Steward  to  those  who  subsequently  divided  the  spoil.  In 
his  time  the  official  “ shop  ” was  in  the  Cloister  under 
Whittington’s  Library,  and  a school  currency  had  been 
substituted  for  coin  of  the  realm.  The  “ shop  ” that  looms 
large  in  the  memory  of  the  living  has  been  situated  in  the 


182  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

abutment  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Garden  and  is 
associated  with  the  honoured  name  of  “Johnny  Fletcher.” 
It  may  be  hoped  that  at  West  Horsham,  where  appetites 
should  not  be  less  keen  than  they  are  in  Newgate  Street, 
there  may  be  a return  to  the  official  “shop”  of  a century 
ago,  and,  if  in  the  country  the  beadle  will  cease  from 
troubling,  the  profits  might  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Games  Committee. 

DRESS 

If  there  arises  some  centuries  hence  a historian  of  Christ’s 
Hospital,  West  Horsham,  he  may  have  something  of  interest 
to  tell  about  diet,  but  it  is  hardly  likely  that  he  will  find 
anything  entrancing  in  the  dress.  Nobody  supposes  that 
the  present  habit  will  long  survive  the  removal  of  the 
“ Blues  ” to  the  country ; indeed,  it  would  probably  serve 
the  purpose  of  the  new  state  of  things  better  to  introduce 
at  once  a more  appropriate  costume.  But  no  survival  in 
our  day,  when  survivals  get  fewer  by  sure  degrees,  could 
be  happier  than  that  which  has  preserved  almost  intact 
through  all  the  changes  of  three  centuries  and  a half  the 
dress  of  the  period  of  the  first  foundation.  The  buildings, 
the  fare,  the  recreations,  the  educational  system,  have  all 
been  transformed.  The  dress  alone  recalls  the  Tudors.  It 
is  however  difficult  to  decide  what  particular  dress  of  that 
period  it  recalls.  Leigh  Hunt  believed  “it  was  the  ordinary 
dress  of  children  in  humble  life.”  It  has  been  maintained 
that  it  is  the  garb  of  the  ordinary  London  ’prentice-boy  of 
that  day.  Personally  I am  not  anxious  to  know  what  it 
represents,  if  it  is  not  a development  of  the  monastic  habit 
associated  with  the  very  stones  of  the  place.  The  details 
of  the  dress  as  it  prevailed  well  on  into  the  nineteenth 
century  suggest  this  rather  than  any  other  interpretation. 
There  is  the  long  outer  cloak,  the  long  coarse  cassock  (of 
yellow)  underneath,  and  the  girdle  to  keep  the  cloak  to- 
gether. The  one  sign  which  I admit  makes  in  favour  of  a 
lay  rather  than  a monastic  origin  is  the  small  epaulette  on 
the  coats,  which  is  familiar  in  every  Holbein  tunic.  I am 
also  bound  to  admit  that  the  records  assign  no  particular 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 


183 


“ inwardness  ” to  the  clothes  ordered  for  the  children.  The 
first  “Annual  Accompt”  contains  the  original  tailor’s  bill 
for  the  earliest  batch  of  children,  which  was  paid  in  December 
1552.  It  mentions  “shoes,”  “canvas,”  “ kersies,”  “cappes,” 
“ cottons,”  and  “ knytte  hosen.”  The  first  statement  on  the 
subject  from  outside  is  supplied  by  Stow,  who  got  it  from 
Richard  Grafton.  “On  Christmas  day  [1552]  in  the  after- 
noone,  while  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  rode  to  Powles, 
the  children  of  Christ’s  Hospitall  stood  from  Saint  Lawrence 
Lane  end  in  Cheape,  towards  Powles,  all  in  one  liuery  of 
russet  cotton,”  whereas  at  the  following  Easter  “they  were 
in  blew  at  the  Spittle,  and  so  haue  continued  euer  since.” 
It  has  been  assumed  that  this  statement,  of  whose  accuracy 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  implies  a change  in  the  colour  of 
the  coats,  so  that  the  “ Blue-coat  ” was  once  “ Red-coat,”  or 
whatever  hue  Stow  means  by  “ russet.”  But  a glance  at  the 
items  in  the  tailor’s  bill  already  given  will  show  that  no 
coats  were  ordered  up  to  Christmas,  while  the  “ kersies  ” 
procured  in  November  1552  are  almost  certainly  the  long 
under-coats  reaching  almost  to  the  feet,  which  later  genera- 
tions called  “ yellows.”  I think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
till  more  funds  came  in,  the  children  had  to  be  content  with 
these  for  the  time  being.  Their  colour  is  not  specified  and 
may  well  have  been  Stow’s  “ russet,”  and  the  want  of  other 
covering  may  explain  why  so  many  of  the  first  batch  of 
children,  in  the  memorable  phrase  of  John  Howes,  “dyed 
down  righte.”  They  had  to  wait  for  their  coats  all  that 
winter.  The  “ Accompt  ” shows  an  occasional  payment  of 
small  sums,  such  as  “ for  the  makynge  of  iiii  wastes  and 
ii  dubletts.  ii3  iiiid,”  but  by  April  the  coats  were  finished 
and  “ for  the  makinge  of  cccxxii  cotes  for  the  children  ” the 
tailor  was  paid  at  the  rate  of  “ vid  the  pere.”  This  entry 
substantiates  Stow’s  statement  that  they  appeared  at  the 
Spital  Sermons  in  “ blew,”  or  what  he  elsewhere  calls 
“ plonket  coates,”  with  red  caps,  and  it  adds  probability  to 
the  so-called  Holbein  picture  of  the  presentation  of  the 
Charter  (which  took  place  two  months  later),  in  which  the 
blue  coats  appear.  It  may  be  noted  that  nothing  is  said 


184  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


about  the  purchase  of  Linen  for  the  “ bands  ” or  ruffs  for 
the  neck,  and  the  presumption  is  that  the  Governors  were 
in  a position  to  secure  this  without  payment.  Edward 
allowed  them  to  receive  a quantity  of  Church  linen,  and 
at  the  first  Court,  of  which  the  minutes  survive  (December 
7th,  1556),  a motion  was  passed  “that  a request  might  be 
made  to  thinhabitants  of  euerye  p’rishe  for  their  olde 
lynnen,”  as  if  it  were  a matter  of  course. 

Before  going  into  any  matters  of  detail,  in  which  the 
records  throw  light  on  the  nature  of  the  dress,  it  will  be  well 
to  note  two  rules,  which  have  tended  to  preserve  a rigid 
pattern  and  to  make  it  familiar  everywhere.  First,  no  child 
was  ever  permitted  at  any  time  to  wear  any  other  dress  than 
the  one  provided,  and  it  has  occasionally  been  necessary 
to  enforce  this  not  only  in  the  House  but  outside  it.  In 
1646  “ it  is  found  that  diuers  Children  kept  in  the  Cittie 
belonging  to  his  house  doe  not  some  tyme  weare  their  blew 
coates  and  some  tymes  not  weare  their  yellow  peticoats  as 
they  ought  to  doe.”  The  penalty  for  such  conduct  is  to  be 
“ utterly  dismist  from  the  paym1  and  clothing  of  this 
hospitall  ipso  facto.”  The  rule,  of  course,  prevails  to  the 
present  time  for  all  members  of  the  Foundation,  except 
Grecians  during  vacations,  though  it  is  recognised  that  a boy 
may  vary  his  dress,  if  he  is  taking  exercise.  The  other  rule, 
which  in  my  experience  there  has  been  no  tendency  to 
transgress,  is  that  nothing  must  be  added  to  the  dress  in  the 
way  of  improvement.  But  “ Blues  ” have  not  always  been 
so  contented.  Notice  was  “taken  by  one  of  the  Governors  ” 
in  1716  that  some  of  the  children  “wear  fine  linnen  at  their 
hands  and  neck,  which  if  permitted  may  be  of  ill  conse- 
quence, it  tending  only  to  pride  and  the  ruin  of  them.” 
Another  mention  of  the  same  sort  of  practice,  though  the 
conclusion  is  not  quite  consistent  with  the  other,  occurs  in 
1758.  “Many  of  the  children,”  it  runs,  “have  their  Blue 
coates  after  they  are  delivered  to  them  from  the  Wardrobe 
Bound  with  Galloon  or  Ferret,  and  Button  Holes  between 
those  made  by  the  Taylor  worked  with  Silk,  and  the  Girles 
their  Gowns  bound  with  Galloon  or  Ferret,  which  the  Nurses 


A GRECIAN  IN  1816 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 


185 


are  paid  for  by  the  Children  or  their  Friends,— which  if 
suffered  will  be  of  ill  Consequence  especially  to  those 
Children  who  have  no  friends.”  They  were  therefore 
warned  that  the  dress  must  remain  “ uniform  without 
addition.” 

Taking  a “ Blue’s  ” accoutrements  from  head  to  foot,  one 
comes  naturally  to  the  vexed  question  of  caps.  The  British 
public  has  got  so  used  to  pitying  the  “ Blues  ” on  the  ground 
that  they  must  surely  be  always  catching  cold,  that  it  will  be 
surprised  to  hear  of  a cap  as  forming  part  of  the  dress  at  all. 
About  this,  however,  there  is  not  the  slightest  question.  We 
may  take  a point  in  the  centre  of  our  period  and  work  back- 
wards and  forwards  from  it.  In  July  1702  a “Mathemat” 
decided  to  “chase.”  It  was,  as  will  be  seen,  a habit  with 
“ Mathemats  ” to  do  so,  but  this  one  was  exceptional.  Most 
of  them  ran  away  to  sea:  Ben  Herne  “chased”  because  he 
wanted  to  stay  at  home.  But  he  was  honest  enough  to  have 
a bundle  left  at  the  house  of  the  Chief  Clerk,  “ wch  being 
opened  in  presence  of  the  Committee  it  appeared  they  were 
the  clothes  of  Ben  Herne,  viz1  his  Blew-coate,  Yellow-coate, 
Shirt,  Shooes,  Stockings,  Cap,  Girdle,  and  badge.”  It  has 
already  been  noted  that  “ cappes  ” appear  in  the  first  clothing 
bill,  and  the  records  refer  constantly  to  the  ordering  of 
further  consignments,  “ against  Easter,”  in  order  that  the 
children  may  look  nice  at  the  Spital.  Stow  tells  us  that  in 
1553  the  caps  were  red,  but  the  only  survivors  of  a now 
departed  custom  are  unquestionably  blue.  As  a matter  of 
industrial  history  it  may  be  noted  that  the  Committee  at  one 
time  (1684,  and  after)  procured  them  from  “Litchfield.” 
But,  if  the  model,  which  prevailed  till  caps  were  abolished 
in  the  middle  of  last  century,  is  any  indication  of  the 
original  shape,  they  were  never  of  any  use  as  a head- 
covering, being  absurdly  small.  Indeed  the  only  use  for 
them  known  by  the  traditions  of  the  elders  was  that  they 
were  a convenient  means  of  getting  a comfortable  drink 
at  the  Pump,  and  every  “Blue”  will  acknowledge  that  the 
absence  of  head-gear  is  not  the  least  acceptable  feature  of 
the  dress  he  is  so  proud  to  have  worn. 


1 86  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


The  bands  which  the  boys  wear  at  their  necks  are  more 
difficult  to  trace  in  the  early  minutes  of  the  committees. 
The  Governors  of  November  1552  paid  something  for 
“ cottons,”  which  were  doubtless  to  be  made  into  shirts,  and 
as  the  bands  may  fairly  be  taken  to  descend  from  the  turn- 
over collar  of  the  Tudor  period,  they  were  probably  attached 
at  the  beginning  to  the  shirts.  Indeed  I have  found  no 
reference  to  them  at  all  till  1759,  when  there  was  an  order 
that  “ in  future  the  Boys  be  allowed  yearly  two  Bands  only 
instead  of  three.”  By  that  time  they  were  clearly  separate 
entities,  and  how  they  were  kept  on  no  one  knows.  But,  as 
long  as  “ Blues  ” now  living  can  remember  they  have  been 
fastened  with  pins,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  linen  and  to 
the  enhanced  value  of  a pin  within  the  confines  of  the 
Hospital.  This  strange  habit  may  have  prevailed  for  longer 
than  one  would  suppose.  For  a Matron  of  the  year  1736, 
who,  I grieve  to  say,  supplied  the  chronicler  with  a chance 
of  using  about  her  that  favourite  phrase,  “disguised  in 
liquor,”  was  alleged  to  have  “ embazelled  ” some  of  the 
stores  committed  to  her  for  distribution.  Among  her  de- 
falcations is  the  item  of  “ 207,082  pins  ” — neither  more  nor 
less — valued  at  ,£10  7s.  There  must  have  been  considerable 
use  for  the  article  to  give  rise  to  a supply  of  such  quantities. 

Everyone  knows  the  fashion  of  the  Christ’s  Hospital 
coat.  Its  type  has  long  been  fixed,  but  it  has  had  its 
changes  like  other  things.  There  was  a time  (1638)  when 
the  fiat  went  forth  that  the  coats  should  be  “ made  with 
hooks  and  lyes,  and  none  with  buttons.”  How  long  this 
prevailed  it  is  hard  to  say.  Possibly  it  was  still  the  rule 
in  1706  when  it  was  “ordered  that  consideration  shall  be 
had  at  some  other  time  about  allowing  the  children  a set  of 
brass  buttons  yearely.”  Buttons  were  certainly  the  mode 
in  1758  when,  as  the  result  of  the  extravagant  habits  already 
referred  to,  a committee  was  called  to  settle  the  uniform 
beyond  all  question.  “ The  Boys  Clothes,"  their  resolution 
ran,  “ shall  be  made  agreeable  to  a Coat  produced  to  this 
Committee  with  Buttonholes  overcast,  and  the  Coats  be 
always  buttoned  by  the  Taylor  with  White  Metal  Buttons 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 


187 


with  the  Head  of  King  Edward  the  Sixth  Founder  of  this 
Hospital.”  Many  “Blues”  can  remember  this  soft  metal 
button,  which  has  been  replaced  by  one  of  a more  modern 
substance,  and  can  recall  the  tradition  to  which  Leigh  Hunt 
refers,  that  the  original  article  was  of  silver,  to  suit  a storied 
coat  made  of  the  finest  velvet.  But  few  save  those  who 
have  worn  it  know  that  the  lining  of  the  coat,  like  the 
ancient  kersey  and  the  modern  stocking,  is  of  a brilliant 
yellow,  and  has  been  so  since  the  year  1638.  On  June  3rd, 
1636,  it  had  been  “ordered  and  agreed  that  all  the  Welsh 
cottons  which  shall  hereafter  be  bought  into  this  House  for 
the  use  of  the  children  either  for  petticoates  or  otherwise 
shall  be  dyed  with  a yallowe  couller,”  and  eighteen  months 
later  the  reason  for  the  change  leaks  out,  when  it  is  decided 
(January  23rd,  1638)  that  the  “lynnings”  for  the  coats  shall 
also  be  “ dyed  yallowe  as  well  as  ye  petticoates  to  avoid 
vermin  by  reason  the  white  cottens  is  held  to  breed  the 
same.”  I am  not  chemist  enough  to  say  how  far  their 
reasoning  was  sound  ; but  there  is  the  fact  that  yellow  as 
a large  component  in  the  colour  scheme  of  the  Christ’s 
Hospital  dress  had  a sanitary  and  not  an  eesthetic  origin. 

The  “yellow,”  a long  shapeless  smock,  which  up  to  1865 
was  worn  under  the  coat  in  winter,  and  in  previous  times 
was  worn  summer  and  winter  alike,  is  variously  described 
in  the  records  as  a “ Kersey  ” or  “ petticoat.”  They  were 
of  course  purchased  at  various  times  in  bulk,  as  for  instance 
when  in  1676  the  Treasurer  and  several  Governors  were 

requested  to  go  to  Blackwell  Hall,  one  of  the  great  mer- 

cantile centres  and  the  property  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  “to 
buy  cottons  and  kersies  for  the  use  of  the  children.”  Later, 
they  got  into  the  way  of  securing  them  direct  from  the 

manufacturers,  and  in  1734  it  is  stated  that  the  kerseys  were 

being  made  “near  Halifax  in  Yorkshire,”  whence  they  came 
to  London  by  sea,  for  the  sake  of  economy.  The  same 
motive  entered  into  the  method  of  disposing  both  of  coats 
and  kerseys,  when  they  had  served  their  time  on  the  children’s 
backs.  There  was  an  order  in  1686  that  the  nurses  were  “to 
bring  into  the  Wardrob  all  the  Children’s  old  Coates,  as, 


1 88  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


when  any  of  the  Nurses  shall  have  occasion  for  any  old 
Coates  to  mend  others,  or  to  make  Mopps,”  the  Wardrobe- 
Keeper  can  give  them  out.  The  new  coats  came  in  at 
Easter,  and  a batch  of  the  discarded  coats  was  usually  sent 
down  to  clothe  the  Hertford  boys.  It  was  the  rule  of  the 
House,  at  any  rate  in  1760,  that  “the  yellow  coat  be  washed 
once  in  a quarter  of  a year.” 

To  make  this  survey  complete  it  is  necessary  to  mention 
the  breeches,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  their  annals  are 
briefer  than  those  of  the  other  items  in  the  dress.  They  did 
not  come  into  vogue  until  1736,  when  there  is  a pitiable 
mention  in  the  minutes  of  “ the  great  inconveniency  more 
especially  attending  the  sick  and  weakly  children  in  this 
House  for  want  of  Breeches.”  Even  then  they  were  not 
universally  adopted  but  were  given  to  such  “ sick  and  weakly 
children  as  the  Doctor  or  Surgeon  or  either  of  them  shall  at 
any  time  think  necessary,”  and  in  the  first  instance  they  were 
made  of  leather.  The  decision  as  to  the  “ uniform  ” for 
every  boy  as  settled  in  1758  makes  no  mention  of  them 
at  all.  But  by  1760  it  was  considered  that  the  boys  should 
have  “ each  yearly  two  pair  of  Breeches  made  of  Russia  drab, 
instead  of  the  Leather  Breeches  they  now  have.”  The  ex- 
pression “ Russia  drab  ” may  serve  to  describe  the  breeches 
still  worn  by  the  rank  and  file.  It  is  one  of  the  coveted 
privileges  of  Greciandom  to  wear  breeches  that  make  some 
pretence  of  fitting  and  are  built  of  a less  out-of-the-way 
material. 

Of  the  famous  stockings,  which  will  soon  cease  to  be  a 
daily  topic  with  the  rude  boy  in  the  City  streets,  the  records 
of  the  Hospital  are  almost  silent.  But  they  make  up  for 
it  by  saying  a great  deal  about  the  shoes,  which  seem  to 
have  caused  considerable  difficulty.  The  first  instance  I 
have  found  of  trouble  in  this  department  occurred  in  1637, 
when  the  Committee  found  that  “ the  house  hath  been  much 
wronged  in  the  shooes,  and  that  the  prizes  are  sett  downe 
in  divers  orders  but  not  of  what  goodnes  of  Leather  they 
should  bee  made.”  They  were  paying  at  the  rate  of  fourteen 
shillings  the  dozen  pairs,  and  ought  to  get  them  for  less. 


FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 


189 


They  thought  that  “one  halfe  of  the  shooes  being  of  the 
biggest  size  shall  be  made  of  good  neats  leather  liquored, 
and  Tallowed  soles,  and  the  other  halfe  to  be  made  of  good 
Calues  Leather  and  Tallowed  soles.”  Six  months  later  the 
Translator — for  such  was  the  not  unhappy  title  of  the 
Hospital  cobbler — gave  notice  to  leave  as  he  could  not  make 
it  pay,  and  in  1695  the  succeeding  Translator,  a lady,  also 
put  in  a complaint  that  she  was  losing  money  by  her 
contract  because  “she  hath  not  ye  benefitt  of  small  sized 
shoes  amongst  ye  greater  in  respect  the  Hospital  hath 
admitted  no  children  for  three  years  last  past.”  Again 
the  Translator  of  1661,  one  Joseph  Martin,  pleaded  for 
an  increase  of  salary  on  account  of  “ the  excessive  deereness 
of  leather,”  because  the  number  of  the  children  has  con- 
siderably increased  and  because  “he  hath  mended  the 
childrens  shooes  that  are  called  by  the  name  of  Mr.  Aldworth’s 
children.”  The  Committee  came  to  an  arrangement  with 
him,  but  it  clearly  did  not  settle  the  difficulty  for  long. 
The  everyday  shoes  of  1669  were  so  bad  that  the  children 
“are  in  danger  of  their  healths,”  while  in  1735  the  children 
were  “ in  general  almost  bear-foot  by  reason  of  the  length 
of  time  of  their  not  having  shoes  from  Easter  to  Bar- 
tholomewtide  ” (no  very  long  space  for  a pair  to  last). 
However  it  was  in  1735  that  the  Committee,  discarding  the 
handiwork  of  the  “Translator,”  except  for  mere  “translating,” 
decided  to  procure  the  shoes  from  Northampton  at  two 
shillings  a pair ; whereupon  there  was  less  to  complain 
of  as  regards  the  durability  of  the  goods  supplied.  But 
every  generation  has  been  compelled  to  make  its  feet  fit 
the  shoes, — which  has  not  tended  to  the  shapeliness  of 
Christ’s  Hospital  feet. 

As  the  girls  of  the  Hospital  have  for  some  years  past 
adopted  a comparatively  modern  costume,  it  may  be  well  to 
add  a word  as  to  their  dress,  about  which  the  records  are 
unfortunately  not  very  communicative,  nor  does  the  wordy 
Trollope  think  the  matter  worth  notice.  Happily  its 
picturesque  character  is  not  likely  to  be  forgotten,  for  there 
are  statues  at  Hertford  and  an  admirable  picture  in  the 


190  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Museum,  which  preserve  the  details  for  us.  That  the  school 
dress  must  always  be  worn,  and  none  other,  was  the  rule 
for  them  as  well  as  for  the  boys,  and  an  extract  given  above 
shows  that  it  was  equally  illegal  for  a feminine  taste  for 
finery  to  add  “galloon”  or  “ ferret”  to  the  accepted  pattern. 
There  seems  to  have  been  an  occasional  variation  of  colour, 
for  in  1717  there  was  reported  to  be  need  of  “a  sufficient 
supply  of  green  say  to  be  made  into  aprons  for  the  use  of 
the  Maiden  children  at  Hertford,”  while  in  1759  it  was 
agreed  that  they  should  “ be  allowed  yearly  in  future  3 new 
blue  aprons,  2 of  wch  are  to  be  deliver’d  Clean  to  each  girl, 
weekly.”  The  special  committee  that  sat  in  March  1758, 
besides  settling  the  amount  of  under-linen  to  be  provided 
for  them,  arranged  that  they  should  “ have  three  Peaks, 
Three  Coifs,  and  Four  Pair  of  Stockings  every  Year.”  With 
them,  as  with  the  boys,  there  was  more  trouble  about  their 
shoes  than  about  the  rest  of  their  clothing.  For  a long 
time  they  submitted  to  be  shod  on  the  same  pattern  as 
their  male  colleagues,  but  in  1724  the  Committee  agreed 
to  a motion  “ in  behalf  of  the  girles  of  this  House  that  they 
may  be  allowed  high  heel’d  shoes  in  the  Room  of  the  shoes 
they  have  been  used  to  wear  in  comon  with  the  Boyes.” 
Such  a concession  to  fashion  seems  to  have  obviated  further 
complaints. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH 


“ The  Christ’s  Hospital  boy  is  a religious  character.” — Charles  Lamb. 
“We  rivalled  the  monks  in  the  religious  part  of  our  duties.” — Leigh  Hunt. 

SCHOOL  so  closely  connected  in  its  origin  with  an 


ecclesiastical  foundation  as  Christ’s  Hospital  with  the 
Grey  Friars  was  bound  to  maintain  the  union  of  interest 
between  the  two.  It  was  therefore  only  natural,  when  the 
minster  of  the  Franciscans  became  the  church  of  the 
neighbouring  parishes,  that  Christ  Church  should  serve  as 
the  chapel  of  the  school.  It  was  over  three  hundred  feet 
long.  It  had  a large  choir  and  an  enormous  nave,  and  must 
have  been  well  supplied  with  side  chapels,  which  could  have 
been  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  children.  Anyhow,  no 
chapel  was  ever  erected  within  the  walls  of  the  Hospital. 
The  hall  had  its  pulpit  from  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  in  recent  years  the  old  hall’s  successor 
has  been  comfortably  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  an 
evening  service.  The  “ Blues,”  in  fact,  with  certain  excep- 
tions to  be  noticed  presently,  have  always  formed  part  and, 
for  the  last  quarter  of  a century,  a very  large  proportion 
of  the  congregation  of  Christ  Church. 

So  it  will  be  expected  that  the  Hospital’s  records  should 
have  something  to  say  of  the  history  of  this  close  bond 
between  the  parish  church  and  the  school ; and  it  may  be 
confessed  at  once  that  the  history  does  not  always  speak  of 
placid  contentment.  A self-governing  institution  has  a 
natural  bias  against  being  considered  part  of  the  life  of 
a parish.  Energetic  and  impetuous  vicars,  and,  worse  still, 


192  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


vicars  who  were  impetuous  without  the  energy,  were  apt  to 
assert  their  right  to  “ visit  ” within  the  precincts,  and  the 
authorities  of  the  school  were  just  as  apt  to  cut  the  visit 
short  at  the  lodge-gates.  On  the  other  hand,  so  large  an  in- 
stitution in  a parish  of  small  area  could  never  confer  any 
great  advantage  on  the  parish,  and  has  sometimes  been  a 
source  of  serious  loss,  as  will  presently  appear. 

We  have  already  been  introduced  to  “one  Thomas 
Bryckett,  Vicar  of  Christes  Church,”  the  earliest  occupant 
of  the  benefice  under  Henry  VIII.’s  Letters,  whose  lodging 
was  in  the  monastery  before  it  was  fitted  for  its  future 
tenants.  The  arrangements  made  for  his  removal  by  the 
Governors  seem  to  have  been  amicable  enough,  and  he 
doubtless  found  a comfortable  lodging  in  the  parish. 
However,  ten  years  later  I find  a reference  in  the  earliest 
surviving  Court  Book  (September  27th,  1557),  to  the  ap- 
parent homelessness  of  the  vicar.  He  “ specially  sueth  for  ” 
the  “ next  advoydance  of  one  of  the  new  tements  belonginge 
to  St.  Bartholomewes  Hospitall  lyinge  in  Christe  proche 
(parish).”  At  the  “ speciall  instance  and  request  of  my 
lorde  maior,”  the  vicar  was  allowed  to  have  one  of  these 
houses  at  the  rent  then  paid,  “ duringe  so  longe  tyme  as  the 
same  vicar  shall  continewe  Vicar  of  the  said  Christe 
Churche.”  The  strange  thing  is  that  the  vicar  at  once  let  the 
house  on  lease  to  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital  during  his  life 
for  £4  a year ; so  the  apparent  result  of  his  petition  was 
an  addition  of  that  sum  yearly  to  his  stipend  of  £26  13^.  4d. 
It  should  be  added  that  of  course  this  gift  is  not  represented 
by  the  present  vicarage,  which  was  rented  by  the  Rev. 
Michael  Gibbs  from  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital,  and  by 
a generous  arrangement  became  the  freehold  of  the  benefice 
under  his  successor. 

But  though  there  was  no  corporate  connexion  between 
church  and  hospital,  matters  were  bound  to  arise  to  draw  the 
two  together.  For  example,  Lady  Ramsey,  who  was  buried 
in  Christ  Church,  “ did  devise  and  give  for  the  preachinge 
of  two  sermons  yearely  in  Christ  Church,  ye  one  on  Snt 
Stephens  Day  in  ye  afternoon  and  the  other  the  first  Sunday 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH 


i93 


in  Lent  xls  yearely.”  But  it  turned  out  in  1604  that  the 
hour  of  the  St.  Stephen’s  day  service  was  inconvenient,  “ for 
that  the  Aldermen  and  gouernours  that  shoulde  be  presente 
therat  cannot  bee  there  so  soone  for  that  many  of  them  dine 
at  the  Lord  Maiors  and  Sherifes  the  same  day,  whereby  the 
time  is  late  before  they  can  come.”  So,  without  any 
apparent  reference  to  the  vicar,  the  Court  decreed  that  the 
St.  Stephen’s  Day  service  “ shalbee  referred  till  4 of  the  clock 
in  the  same  afternoone  and  the  other  sermon  for  the  first 
Sunday  in  lent  to  continue  as  it  is.”  Lady  Ramsey  was  not 
the  only  benefactor  who  thought  that  it  was  a good  thing  to 
send  the  Governors  to  church  on  definite  occasions.  Custom, 
as  elsewhere  referred  to,  has  decided  that  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  Corporation  should  attend  at  Christ  Church  on  St. 
Matthew’s  Day  by  invitation  of  the  Governors,  and  that  the 
Governors  should  attend  at  Easter  by  invitation  of  the  Lord 
Maygr  and  the  Corporation.  The  Protestantism  of  the 
Hospital  showed  itself  in  a Gunpowder  Plot  sermon  on 
November  5th,  endowed  by  Mr.  Humble  in  1640,  and  in  the 
bequest  of  Thomas  Barnes  for  a sermon  on  November  17th, 
the  accession  day  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  Gunpowder 
Plot  might  be  aptly  remembered  in  a church  which  con- 
tained a Digby  tomb,  and  the  portrait  of  Barnes,  which 
hangs  in  the  Court  Room,  makes  it  no  wonder  that  he  was 
determined  to  perpetuate  “the  completion  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  England  ” ; for  his  complexion  is  perfect  Puritanism. 
Of  the  endowment  which  he  left  for  the  purpose  the 
Charity  Commissioners  have  decreed  that  other  use  should 
be  made,  but  the  practice  of  the  Reformation  sermon  is 
being  maintained,  so  long  as  the  boys  of  the  Hospital  are 
resident  in  the  parish.  Another  ceremony  at  Christ  Church, 
for  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Governors  to  make  arrange- 
ments, is  connected  with  the  name  of  Sir  John  Gayer,  who 
is  more  familiarly  known  as  the  founder  of  the  “ Lion  ” 
Sermon  at  St.  Catherine  Cree  Church.  He  was  not  only 
a brave  traveller  and  a courageous  Alderman,  as  Charles 
and  the  Protector  alike  discovered,  but  he  was  also  keenly 
interested  in  Christ’s  Hospital.  In  October  1648,  at  a time 
o 


194  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

of  national  unrest,  the  Governors  showed  their  sense  of  his 
public  spirit  by  electing  him  President.  At  least,  so  I 
interpret  their  action.  For  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  Gayer, 
then  Chief  Magistrate,  was  required  to  assist  in  providing 
a subsidy  for  the  Commonwealth  men.  The  ward-lists  were 
to  be  gone  through  by  each  alderman,  and  men  who  could 
afford  to  subscribe  £50  were  to  be  ticked  off.  Gayer 
refused,  as  he  had  done  when  Charles  made  similar  demands 
in  1640.  He  was  ousted  from  the  Mansion  House,  and  sent 
to  the  Tower,  a Parliamentarian  being  made  Lord  Mayor 
in  his  place.  He  was  released  in  June  1648,  and  in  October 
the  election  of  President  of  the  Hospital  took  place. 
Among  the  candidates  were  the  Parliamentarian  Lord 
Mayor  and  the  Lord  Mayor  Elect ; but  the  Governors  chose 
Sir  John  Gayer.  During  the  few  following  months  he  was 
occupied  in  settling  the  details  of  his  gift  to  Christ’s 
Hospital,  the  final  “draught  of  the  gift  of  Sir  John  Gare  ” 
being  submitted  to  him  in  May  1649.  He  was  President 
long  enough  to  preside  over  three  general  Courts,  or  rather 
less  than  a year. 

To  return  to  his  connexion  with  Christ  Church.  His  will 
directs  that  every  eighth  year  it  shall  be  read  audibly  to  the 
Governors  at  a Court-meeting ; after  which  they  are  to  go 
to  the  Church  to  hear  a sermon.  He  wished  certain  gifts 
to  be  made  at  the  same  time  to  the  preacher,  the  Treasurer, 
the  Grammar  Master,  and  the  like,  and  he  ordained  “ a dinner 
in  roast  beef  or  other  cates  for  the  children.”  The  total  of 
the  yearly  gift  was  .£25,  and  in  the  seven  intervening  years 
the  money  was  employed  in  apprenticing  the  children  when 
they  left  school.  The  sermon  was  last  preached  in  Christ 
Church  in  November  1897. 

There  is  one  other  occasion  of  the  same  sort  which  brings 
the  Hospital  and  the  Church  together  each  year.  Among 
the  many  charities,  which  make  Christ’s  Hospital  much  more 
a vast  benevolent  institution  than  merely  a school,  is  the 
one  connected  with  Mistress  Sarah  Bowerman  and  dating 
from  1727.  It  gives  pensions  “to  such  and  so  many  honest, 
reduced,  and  distressed  widows  (not  being  pensioners)  of 


195 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH 

traders,  tradesmen,  or  others,  in  the  out  parts  of  the  City 
of  London,  and  in  the  out  parts  adjacent  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river  Thames,  that  were  not  or  should  not  be  entitled 
to  receive  any  of  the  charitable  gifts  or  annuities”  of  the 
City.  She  also  arranged  that  yearly  on  January  7th,  being 
the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  her  sister,  “ some  good  and 
sufficient  preacher”  should  be  procured  for  a service  at 
Christ  Church,  to  be  attended  by  all  her  pensioners,  “ unless 
disabled  by  sickness  or  otherwise,  in  which  case  they  should 
procure  some  other  matronlike  women  to  appear  and  attend 
for  them.” 

These  instances  will  serve  to  show  that  the  relations  be- 
tween the  parish  church  and  the  school  involve  a certain 
amount  of  intimacy.  But  the  proper  way  to  realise  the 
true  connexion  of  the  two  is  to  remember  that  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  with  very  slight  breaks,  Christ  Church  without 
ceasing  to  be  a parish  church  has  served  as  the  school 
chapel.  Up  to  the  time  when  the  Hospital  decided  to  have 
evening  service  for  the  boys  in  the  Hall,  it  can  hardly  be 
questioned  that  the  arrangement  involved  some  loss  to  the 
boys.  In  a school  which  has  no  Sunday  service  of  its  own 
both  masters  and  scholars  are  at  an  undoubted  disadvan- 
tage. On  the  other  hand  the  arrangement  of  the  last 
hundred  years,  by  which  the  school  takes  part  in  an  ordinary 
parish  service  in  the  morning  and  has  its  own  private  service 
in  the  evening,  may  be  of  unusual  benefit — if  the  parish 
church  makes  an  effort  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  younger 
part  of  the  congregation. 

But  it  is  quite  easy  to  pardon  the  first  Governors  for  not 
building  a chapel  in  the  Hospital.  The  huge  Abbey  stood 
at  its  very  gate,  and  there  must  have  been  sufficient  room  in 
Queen  Margaret’s  choir  alone  to  accommodate  both  the 
scholars  and  the  parishioners.  The  “ west  church  ” or  nave 
seems  to  have  been  let  to  a schoolmaster,  after  it  was  cleared 
of  the  plunder  taken  in  the  war  with  France  in  1546;  but 
a sentence  in  the  records  of  a long  controversy  between  the 
Hospital  and  the  parish  after  the  Fire  makes  it  clear  that 
worship  of  some  sort  was  held  in  the  nave.  For  the  parish 


196  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

in  1696  reminded  the  Governors  that  since  the  Fire  they 
had  not  paid  the  usual  £6  a year  for  a Morning  Lecture  in 
the  Church;  and  the  Governors  replied  that  the  Lecture 
was  no  longer  given  ; it  was  to  take  place  “ in  the  lower 
parte  of  the  Church  and  not  to  the  parish.”  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  a gallery  was  ultimately  erected  for  the 
children  at  the  west  end  of  the  choir  of  the  old  church ; 
indeed  their  place  was  described  at  the  time  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  present  church  as  being  “where  the  organ  is 
now  erecting.”  The  School’s  records  are  not  very  clear 
on  the  point,  but  the  records  of  the  parish  are  fortu- 
nately rather  more  definite.  Here  are  the  minutes  of  a 
vestry  held  on  December  14th,  1657  : “ Forasmuch  as 
the  Children  of  Christe  Hospitall  doe  on  Saboth  days  sitt 
behind  the  Pulpitt  in  the  upper  part  of  the  said  Church 
where  (it  is  conceaved)  they  cannot  heare  and  so  receave  noo 
benefitt  by  the  word,  Therefore  for  their  better  accomodation 
the  Governors  of  the  said  Hospitall  are  about  to  erect  for 
them  a large  gallery  crosse  ye  body  of  the  said  Church  below 
the  pulpitt,  which  will  also  (as  is  alleadged)  be  a great  helpe 
to  the  Minister  in  contracting  and  keepeing  his  voice  in  a 
narrower  roome  and  compasse ; But  ye  Parishioners  ” — the 
minute  goes  on  to  explain — thought  the  gallery  would  be 
“a  great  defaceing”  of  the  church  and  no  help  to  the 
minister’s  voice.  So  they  petitioned  against  it ; but  in  vain, 
for  the  Governors  had  their  way. 

Wherever  they  sat,  their  attendance  at  the  old  church 
came  to  an  end  with  the  great  Fire.  It  may  be  questioned 
whether  the  Fire  or  Sir  Christopher  Wren  is  guilty  of  the 
ultimate  disappearance  of  the  Franciscan  Abbey.  It  will 
be  seen  in  the  account  of  the  effects  of  the  Fire  on  the 
Hospital’s  buildings  that  the  windows  of  the  Church  were 
“ very  little  damnified  ” ; and  here  also  the  parochial 
minutes  are  of  use.  A few  lines  from  the  proceedings  of 
a Vestry  on  November  3rd,  1670,  speak  of  the  church- 
wardens laying  out  money  “ for  the  cleareing  the  upper  and 
Lower  Churches,  removeing  Stones  and  makeing  Doores 
and  other  things  necessary  thereabouts,”  as  if  the  main  part 


* 


CHRIST  CHURCH  IN  1816 


197 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH 

of  the  fabric  were  still  standing.  Anyhow  the  children  had 
to  be  accommodated  elsewhere,  and  it  was  natural  that  they 
should  find  a refuge  in  St.  Bartholomew  the  Great.  But  in 
1672  the  Committee  was  asked  to  treat  with  the  Parishioners 
for  seats  in  the  “ tabernacle  ” (the  temporary  wooden  building 
erected  within  the  walls  of  the  choir  of  Christ  Church) 

“ it  being  found  very  inconvenient  for  the  children  to  go  to 
Great  St.  Barthus  church.”  So  the  Committee  “ went  to  the 
Tabernacle  att  Christ’s  Church  and  there  reveiwed  the  in- 
tended place  for  the  children  of  this  Hospitall  to  sitt  in. 
Mr  Goodchild  the  carpenter  being  present  demanded  £15  for 
the  doing  thereof,  the  Hospitall  finding  all  materialls.”  But 
they  offered  him  £12,  and  “bid  him  not  meddle”  unless  he 
would  keep  within  that  sum.  In  1680  the  school  was  once 
more  attending  the  church  in  West  Smithfield,  which  the 
nineteenth  century  restored  into  one  of  the  wonders  of 
England.  “ It  was  agreed”  (February  3rd,  1680)  “that  the 
Lecturer  of  St.  Bartholomew  the  great  shall  have  x8  per  qr 
paid  to  him  as  the  gift  of  this  house  for  soe  long  time  as  the 
children  shall  go  to  that  church,  and  no  longer ; the  parish 
haveing  been  very  kind  in  the  entertainment  of  the  children 
att  their  church,  since  the  late  fire  hath  burnt  downe  Christ 
Church.”  But  it  would  appear  that  the  preacher  did  not 
long  enjoy  his  “x8  per  qr”;  for  in  December,  1683,  the 
Treasurer  records  that  he  has  ordered,  “ upon  a presumption 
of  the  concurrence  of  the  Almoners,  the  children’s  seats  to 
be  matted  for  their  more  reverent  behaviour  in  their  change 
of  jestures  in  the  time  of  the  Divine  Service  in  the  Church 
— it  being  said  that  in  kneeling  they  made  more  than 
ordinary  noise  which  is  now  prevented.”  I take  this  to 
imply  that  they  were  once  more  in  the  “Tabernacle,”  which 
probably  stood  while  Wren’s  new  church  was  built  up  round 
it.  By  1685,  ^ was  time  to  consider  where  the  children 
should  be  located  in  the  new  edifice,  and  a deputation  waited 
on  Sir  Christopher  Wren  “concerning  a gallary  to  be  built 
in  Christ  Church  for  the  children  of  this  Hospital  to  sit  in. 
He  promised  a gallary  should  be  built  at  the  publick  charge 
as  soone  as  conveniently  may  be.” 


I9S  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


But,  as  the  gallery  question  was  not  to  be  settled  all  at 
once  without  some  loss  of  amiability  on  both  sides,  it  will  be 
well  to  notice  that  a certain  amount  of  friction  had  arisen 
between  the  Church  and  the  Hospital  at  this  period. 
Hitherto,  except  for  the  difficulty  about  the  foundlings,  they 
had  lived  at  peace,  and  in  the  matter  of  the  foundlings  there 
was  sufficient  blame  on  both  sides  to  have  produced  a settle- 
ment of  differences.  It  was  true  that  children  “dropped”  at 
the  School  gates  became  chargeable  to  the  parish ; but  any 
stir  at  the  Church  was  calculated  to  increase  the  traffic 
zvithiti  the  Hospital  and  with  it  the  chance  of  laying  children 
down  in  the  cloisters.  In  1645,  when  the  Puritan  preachers 
were  beginning  to  stir  the  metropolis,  the  beadles  were 
ordered  to  be  especially  watchful  “to  prevent  the  laying 
downe  of  children  on  ye  lecture  dayes  in  Christ  Church 
. . . which  may  happen  by  the  concourse  of  people  passing 
to  and  fro  upon  those  dayes.”  But  the  Hospital  began 
to  be  more  and  more  jealous  of  its  rights.  It  was,  for 
instance,  customary  to  employ  the  parish  sexton  for  digging 
any  graves  that  were  needed  in  the  Hospital’s  burying- 
ground,  at  an  inclusive  fee  of  twenty  shillings  a year.  The 
new  sexton  appointed  in  1 666  was  told  that  “the  Treasurer 
would  not  give  liberty  to  him  or  to  any  person  to  use  the 
Churchyard  for  a drying-place  for  clothes  or  otherwise  what- 
soever.” The  churchyard  in  question  must  of  course  have 
lain  inside  the  Hospital,  if  the  Treasurer  had  any  control 
over  it,  and  is  obviously  the  graveyard  beneath  the  east 
end  of  the  Hall,  which  was  disused  by  Act  of  Parliament 
in  1795.  Again,  during  the  incumbency  of  William  Jenkins 
(1643-62),  the  Presbyterian  who  was  ousted  at  the  Restora- 
tion and  spent  the  last  two-and-twenty  years  of  his  life 
in  Newgate,  he  “did  hold  and  enjoy  a passage  through  a 
door  made  in  the  Brickwall  on  the  Northside  of  the  Town- 
ditch,  which  doore  was  to  continue  unto  him  but  dureing  his 
being  Minister  of  Christ  Church,  and  no  longer.”  On  his  ex- 
pulsion, this  privilege  was  withdrawn,  as  being  of  “ daingerous 
consequence,”  and  the  Minutes  are  unfortunately  silent  as  to 
the  use  which  the  passage  was  to  the  vicar. 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH 


199 


Under  his  successor,  Richard  Henchman,  relations  seem 
to  have  been  amicable.  In  1671  “upon  the  request  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Butcher  Hall  Lane,  it  was  ordered  by  the 
Court  that  a Doore  to  the  passage  that  leads  out  of  this 
Hosp.  into  Butchershall  Lane  shall  be  opened  every  morn- 
ing by  the  Porter  of  the  Hosp : and  lockt  up  at  nights  as 
anciently.”  This,  of  course,  refers  to  the  cobble-paved  road- 
way on  the  north  side  of  Christ  Church.  The  parish  is 
possessed  of  a strip  six  feet  wide  from  the  church  wall, 
the  Hospital  owns  the  rest,  and  the  gates  are  still  closed 
at  night  by  arrangement  between  school  and  parish.  But 
the  next  vicar,  Edmund  Shering  (or  Sherring)  came  in 
for  a long  period  of  dissension,  beginning  in  1678  and 
lasting  throughout  his  incumbency.  The  chief  cause  of 
trouble  was  an  action  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren’s,  which 
involved  undoubted  injustice  to  the  parish.  As  Surveyor- 
General  he  resolved  that  the  nave  of  Christ  Church  should 
not  be  rebuilt,  but  the  ground  left  as  a churchyard.  He 
therefore  pulled  down  what  the  Fire  had  partially  spared. 
The  Hospital  was  employing  him  to  rebuild  or  repair  its 
premises,  and  there  is  not  much  doubt  that  he  procured 
an  order  from  the  Court  of  Aldermen  and  the  Bishop  of 
London  to  “ make  a new  ward  . . . next  the  scite  of  the  late 
Parish  Church  of  Christ  Ch.  ...  to  take  down  part  of  the 
old  wall  (which  is  not  to  be  rebuilt  and  was  formerly  called 
the  Old  Church)  ...  to  the  length  of  162  feet  or  there- 
abouts.” This  was  decided  in  September  1678,  and  natural 
objections  were  raised  by  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital  as 
the  patrons  and  by  the  parishioners  in  vestry.  The  former 
withdrew  their  opposition,  but  Mr.  Shering  and  the  vestry 
protested,  as  well  they  might.  They  “ think  not  fitt,”  they 
said,  “to  consent  to  it  nor  are  they  willing  to  part  with 
or  that  any  part  should  be  alienated  to  any  other  use.” 
In  the  following  January  they  claimed  compensation  both 
for  their  north  and  for  their  west  wall,  and  were  told  that 
the  Governors  had  an  order  about  the  north  wall,  on  which 
the  “ Latin  School  ” was  subsequently  erected,  and  that 
the  west  wall  had  been  pulled  down  “ by  order  of  Sir 


200  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Christoph.  Wren  Surveigher  Gena11.”  As  for  the  “incon- 
veniences” the  parish  had  suffered,  “the  Committee  re- 
commended the  Court  to  build  them  a vestry  house  of  one 
roome  of  the  same  length  and  breadth”  and  to  mend  “the 
ffence  on  yc  Northside  of  the  Tabernacle,” — no  extravagant 
compensation  for  a loss  that  to-day  would  represent  some 
thousands  of  pounds. 

But  the  Governors  had  not  done  with  Mr.  Shering.  In 
November  1685  they  brought  him  to  book  over  Mr.  Humble’s 
Gunpowder  Plot  sermon,  already  alluded  to.  “ Mr  Treasr 
was  desired  to  write  a letter  to  Sr  Wm  Humble  to  know 
his  pleasure,  whether  the  xx®  given  by  his  father  for  a sermon 
to  be  made  and  preached  in  Christs  Church  on  5th  November 
should  be  paid  to  Mr.  Shering  the  Minister  thereof,  who 
neither  made  nor  preached  a sermon  on  that  day,  but  read  a 
Homily,  excusing  himselfe  that  he  had  not  timely  notice.” 
At  their  next  meeting  they  had  “a  considerable  debate 
about  this  affaire,”  and  were  “satisfyed  that  Mr  Shering 
although  he  had  notice  did  neither  make  nor  preach  a 
sermon  on  the  said  5th  of  Novr  last  . . . and  hath  noe  just 
claims  to  the  said  xx8.”  Whether  Mr.  Shering  wanted 
to  have  his  revenge  or  not,  there  was  soon  some  further 
difficulty,  this  time  (1689)  about  the  position  of  the  new 
organ,  which  happily  remains  to  this  day  as  a monument 
of  the  skill  of  Renatus  Harris.  The  church  authorities 
wanted  it  where  it  now  stands ; the  school  claimed  that 
this  has  been  their  place  in  the  old  building  ; the  parishioners 
replied  “ that  they  sat  there  onely  by  permission,  having  noe 
right  thereto.”  So  the  quarrel  came  before  the  Bishop’s 
vicar-general,  who  decided  “ that  there  is  not  any  place 
in  the  said  church  more  convenient”  for  the  organ  than 
the  one  selected  ; and  further,  that  the  children  of  the 
Hospital  lately  displaced  by  the  cutting  downe  of  the 
seates,”  being  “hindered  from  the  sight  and  hearing  of  the 
minister,  be  conveniently  seated  in  the  gallaryes  on  the 
North  and  South  side  of  the  Church  next  adjoining  to 
the  gallary  at  the  West  End  of  the  same  to  the  number 
of  eighty.”  After  this  came  “a  large  debate”  between  the 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH  201 

parties,  with  the  result  that  the  parish  agreed  that  the 
Officers  and  children  of  this  Hospitall  have  a right  to  come 
to  the  said  church  as  they  have  hitherto  done,  and  shall 
not  be  hindered  by  them  (the  parishioners)  from  coming 
to  their  gallary.”  The  decision  of  the  parish  was  a wise 
one,  for  the  Governors  have  always  been  generous  to  the 
church  in  supporting  any  object  in  which  the  comfort  of 
the  boys  was  concerned.  For  the  moment  they  were  busy 
making  arrangements  for  the  occupation  of  the  gallery, 
and  four  days  after  the  above  concordat  was  established, 
an  order  went  out  that  “ the  Steward  of  this  Hospitall  shall 
sit  in  the  gallery  of  Christ  Ch.  on  the  North  Side  and  the 
Matron  on  the  South  side,  that  soe  between  them  they  may 
view  and  observe  ” their  respective  charges. 

But  there  were  matters  of  conflict  outstanding  for  the 
next  seven  or  eight  years.  The  parish  still  went  on  de- 
manding some  rent  for  its  lost  church  wall.  They  also 
asked  for  rent  “ for  the  church-yard  neare  the  sick-ward 
of  this  Hospitall,  which  the  parish  have  had  the  use  of 
for  many  yeares  (the  Hospitall  holding  the  same  by  lease 
of  the  City  of  London).”  The  Minister  also  wanted  to  be 
paid  “ flees  of  several  officers  according  to  the  table  of  fees.” 
But  they  got  no  satisfaction,  being  informed  on  the  last 
point  that  the  School  officers  “ have  time  out  of  mind  and 
may  still  have  liberty  to  be  buryed  in  the  Cloysters  and 
their  Churchyard,  without  any  duty  for  the  said  ground 
or  otherwayes,  save  only  what’s  paid  to  the  Sexton,  Bearers, 
&c.  . . . And  besides  the  curate  receives  20£  p.  ann.  for 
buryall  and  christening  of  the  Hospitall  children” — a strange 
course,  considering  that  several  of  the  resident  masters  were 
in  holy  orders  and  would  have  thought  themselves  passing 
rich  on  an  addition  of  that  sum  to  their  salary. 

Still,  peace  was  proclaimed  before  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  the  energies  of  the  Governors  were 
directed  towards  seeing  that  the  staff  and  the  children  were 
regular  in  their  attendance.  Indeed,  in  1689  it  was  agreed 
that  the  children  “ might  have  liberty  to  goe  wednesdayes 
and  ffrydayes  to  the  Lent  sermons  that  are  appointed  to  be 


202  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


preached  in  Christ’s  Church.”  The  officers  had  a pew  in  the 
north  gallery,  and  in  1698  Mr.  Parrey,  the  chief  clerk,  was 
specially  reprimanded  for  preferring  the  Court  Room  and 
his  cups  to  divine  service.  “ Mrs  Matron  ” was  always  to  be 
accompanied  by  the  “nurses”  in  the  south-side  “pew  just 
before  the  Maiden  children.”  It  may  be  added  that  the 
gallery  accommodation  in  Christ  Church  was  obviously 
increased  after  Wren’s  time,  as  appears  from  the  colour  of 
the  panelling  of  the  two  eastern  portions  on  each  side,  these 
bays  being  used  by  the  children  of  the  Ward  Schools.  Of 
the  horrors  and  the  giddy  tremors,  which  were  the  fate  of 
those  who  had  to  sit  in  these  seats,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
speak.  But  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  up  to  the  year  1896, 
when  the  boys  left  the  galleries  for  good,  Christ  Church  has 
witnessed  as  much  patience  in  tribulation  as  any  sacred 
building  in  the  kingdom.  In  my  own  time,  we  only  attended 
morning  service,  which  lasted  two  very  long  hours ; but 
there  are  plenty  of  “ Blues  ” alive  who  had  to  double  the 
agony  by  going  again  in  the  afternoon.  But  back  in  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  the  children  had  to 
endure  the  further  infliction  of  “ Catechise  ” in  the  evening. 
Nor  was  there  any  relaxation  at  the  times  when  the  church 
was  shut  up  “ upon  occasion  of  beautifying  and  repairing  ” ; 
for  instance,  in  1708,  just  after  Wren’s  tower  was  finished, 
there  was  need  of  some  other  arrangement  for  the  children’s 
devotions.  Mountfort,  the  Grammar  Master,  was  sent  for 
and  asked  if  he  would  read  service  and  preach  in  the  Hall, 
but  answered  that  “he  would  desire  to  be  excused  from 
preaching.”  “ Catechise  ” was  enough  for  him.  So  Mr. 
Betts,  curate  of  Christ  Church,  was  hired  “ for  twenty 
shillings  for  every  Sunday  ” to  read  prayers  in  Hall  “ fore- 
noon and  afternoon  and  preach  a sermon  in  the  forenoon 
and  afternoon.”  One  can  hardly  imagine  a modern-style 
head  master  allowing  his  ministerial  functions  to  lapse  into 
the  hand  of  a neighbouring  curate. 

This  chapter  would  not  be  complete  without  some 
reference  to  the  music  of  the  services,  with  which  the 
Hospital  authorities  had  much  to  do.  Robert  Dow’s  Song 


THE  SCHOOL  AT  CHURCH 


203 


School,  as  detailed  elsewhere,*  involved  the  attendance  of  his 
boys  in  “ the  quire  of  Christ  Church,”  and  William  Parker’s 
foundation  of  1613  meant  that  the  parishioners  should 
employ  ^10  a year  in  training  a “Blue”  to  “serve  and  be 
employed  in  playing  of  the  organs  of  the  said  church.” 
But  in  1642,  perhaps  to  please  the  Puritans,  the  organ  was 
taken  down,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  bequest  has  ever 
been  put  into  force  with  anything  like  regularity.  However, 
it  does  not  require  either  Dow’s  gift  or  Parker’s  to  show 
that  in  a congregation,  which  two  hundred  years  ago 
contained  at  least  900  school-children,  the  success  or  the 
collapse  of  the  singing  was  largely  in  their  hands.  I have 
so  far  discovered  only  one  instance,  which  may  be  either 
historically  rare  or  a specimen  of  many  that  might  have 
been  recorded ; I hope  the  former.  It  is  dated  September 
30th,  1737,  and  speaks  of  “the  irregular  and  Disorderly 
singing  of  the  Children  in  Christ  Church  to  the  great 
interruption  and  disturbance  of  the  Congregation.”  To 
remedy  so  sad  a state  of  things  the  Governors  arranged 
that  Mr.  Herwood,  the  Music  Master,  should  teach  the  boys 
of  the  Singing  School  the  proper  Psalm  tunes  (probably  set 
to  a metrical  version).  Then  the  Song  School  boys  “ when 
perfect  therein  shall  every  night  in  the  week  (Sundays 
excepted)  goe  by  rotation  into  the  severall  wards  imediately 
after  supper,  and  instruct  the  other  children  in  the  same. 
The  said  Boys  to  be  silenced  in  the  Church,  Ward,  and  Hall 
until  perfect  therein.”  At  the  time  when  I write,  the 
morning  service  in  Christ  Church  depends  far  more  than  in 
1737  on  the  participation  of  the  “ Blues,”  and  it  may  be 
doubted  if  there  is  a heartier  service  in  the  kingdom.  The 
pity  of  it,  that  within  a few  months  their  places  will  know 
them  no  more ! 


See  above,  p.  137. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS 

“ Perhaps  there  is  not  a foundation  in  the  country  so  truly  English.” 

Leigh  Hunt. 

IT  is  obvious  that  a Foundation  situated  where  Christ’s 
Hospital  is,  wearing  a habit  such  as  the  “Blues”  still 
affect,  and  with  the  prestige  (if  nothing  more  practical)  of 
various  Royal  patrons,  should  have  an  almost  prescriptive 
right  to  take  its  part  in  any  ceremonial  functions  that  turn 
aside  the  City  for  a moment  from  the  pursuit  of  gain.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  at  the  Jubilee  of  1897  the  boys 
were  privileged  to  take  their  stand  by  the  Mansion  House ; 
but  it  is  not  so  generally  known  that  among  the  spectators 
in  front  of  the  Mansion  House  that  day  was  an  aged  clergy- 
man,* who  as  head  “ Grecian  ” had  presented  an  address  to 
her  Majesty  on  the  day  she  first  entered  the  City  as  Queen 
sixty  years  before,  and  who  is  still  living  in  1901.  If  it  were 
necessary-,  it  would  be  easy  to  complete  a chain  of  such 
public  appearances  of  the  “ Blues  ” link  by  link  right  back 
to  the  later  Tudors.  An  instance  or  two  will  suffice.  The 
first  of  these  congratulatory  orations  is  usually  connected 
with  the  name  of  Edmund  Campion,  the  famous  Jesuit.  He 
is  supposed  (though  for  want  of  the  earliest  list  of  names 
the  fact  is  incapable  of  proof)  to  have  entered  Christ’s 
Hospital  at  the  age  of  twelve  during  the  first  year  of  its 
foundation,  and  to  have  been  chosen  by  competition  among 
the  London  Grammar  Schools  to  address  Queen  Mary  on 
her  entry  into  London  in  1553.  The  Hospital’s  natural 
feeling  of  attachment  to  the  Stuarts  was  no  bar  to  its 

* The  Rev.  Frederick  Gifford  Nash,  vicar  of  Clavering. 

204 


205 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS 

readiness  to  do  honour  to  “Dutch  William,”  and  we  find 
an  order  of  the  Court  of  Aldermen  for  “ a stand  in  St.  Paul’s 
Churchyard,  about  five  and  twenty  fo'ote  southward  from 
Mr.  Barnardiston’s  shop  at  the  North  entrance  in  the  yard, 
and  soo  aboute  one  hundred  foote  southward  for  ye  accom- 
modation of  the  Blew-coate  children  ...  on  Saturday  the 
29th  of  this  instant  October  [1692]  at  the  time  of  their  Maties 
passing  there  to  the  Guildhall.”  Again,  it  was  announced 
that  Queen  Anne  would  dine  at  the  Guildhall  on  Lord 
Mayor’s  Day,  1702,  and  the  record  of  October  21st  runs  that 
the  Governors  “have  liberty  to  erect  a seate  or  stand  in 
St.  Paules  Churchyard  for  the  accommodation  of  the  children 
of  that  Hospitall  as  formerly  they  have  done  upon  like  occa- 
sions.” In  the  case  of  the  speech  to  George  I.  (September 
10th,  1714)  arrangements  were  made  for“severall  fair  Coppys 
to  be  made  to  be  presented  to  the  Treasurer  and  such 
persons  as  shall  request  the  same.”  George  II.’s  procession 
in  November  1727  had  to  put  up  with  a more  than  usual 
stoppage  while  three  addresses  were  delivered  by  three 
Grecians  to  their  Majesties,  the  young  prince,  and  the 
princesses,  “on  their  goeing  to  Guildhall  to  dine  with  the 
Lord  Mayor.”  At  the  time  of  George  III.’s  visit  (November 
9th,  1761)  application  was  made  to  the  Dean  of  St.  Paul’s 
“ for  liberty  to  erect  a scaffold  on  the  East  Side  of  St.  Paul’s 
Church  Yard  close  to  the  Rails  and  fronting  St.  Paul’s  School.” 
The  speech  this  time  was  written  by  Peter  Whalley,  the 
Upper  Grammar  Master,  and  is  recorded  in  the  minutes  to 
have  been  spoken  “ with  the  greatest  propriety  of  voice  and 
action”  by  Josiah  Disturnell,  the  senior  Grecian,  who  in  the 
Hospital’s  benefice  of  Wormshill,  Kent,  survived  by  fourteen 
years  the  long  reign  of  the  monarch  whom  he  addressed, 
and  thus  forms  an  interesting  parallel  with  the  Grecian  who 
addressed  Queen  Victoria  on  a similar  occasion.  The  speech 
was  a lurid  illustration  of  the  vanity  of  human  wishes.  It 
prayed  that  the  “ dread  sovereign  ” and  his  consort  might  be 
“ strangers  to  the  disquietude  which  often  dwells  within  the 
circle  of  a crown”  and  have  “every  comfort  of  parental 
felicity.”  Anyhow  it  was  received  “ with  seeming  marks  of 


206  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

approbation,”  and  “on  their  Majesty’s  coach  moving  on  all 
the  children  chanted  very  harmoniously  God  Save  the  King. 
Amen.” 

But  “ great  occasions  ” must  unfortunately  be  held  to  in- 
clude more  than  the  days  when  citizens  “ put  on  their  best 
attire  ” and  “ cull  out  a holiday.”  Situated  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  City,  the  school  has  “ mourned  ” as  well  as  “ piped.” 
It  has  been  liable  to  the  stress  of  political  upheaval,  to  the 
storms  of  religious  excitement,  and  to  the  scourge  of  the 
“Visitations”  of  God.  In  order  of  time,  the  last  may  well 
be  considered  first.  How  did  the  “ Blues  ” fare  under  all  that 
is  comprehended  in  the  word  “Plague”?  Antecedently  it 
might  be  supposed  that  they  would  come  off  badly.  The 
“ Towne  Ditch  ” ran  right  through  the  grounds,  and  at  the 
first  it  was  not  even  deemed  necessary  to  cover  it  over ; even 
when  this  was  done  at  the  expense  of  one  John  Calthrop, 
a citizen,  soon  after  the  foundation  of  the  school,  its  presence 
was  probably  brought  home  to  the  nostrils  of  the  children 
with  painful  frequency.  Indeed  a bishop-historian,  “ dead  ere 
his  prime,”  once  suggested  to  me  that  Ewen’s  gift  of  the  site 
to  the  Friars  may  have  been  due  to  his  difficulty  in  disposing 
of  it  in  any  more  profitable  manner.  Add  to  this  that  the 
neighbourhood  abounded  in  slaughter-houses,  and  the  only 
wonder  is  that  the  mortality  was  not  greater.  As  a matter 
of  fact,  references  in  the  books  to  the  Sickness  are  very  few 
in  number.  Thus,  in  1603,  the  school’s  first  jubilee,  it  was 
resolved  “that  their  shalbe  paid  to  William  Martin  Surgeon 
to  this  House  as  benevolence  for  his  great  paines  taken  with 
the  children  of  this  House  that  hath  bin  visited  with  plauge 
the  some  of  three  pounds,”  and  the  sickward-nurse  received 
“xxxs,”  But,  of  course,  the  trouble  was  terribly  increased 
through  the  system  of  day-boys,  whether  sons  of  freemen 
or  paying  pupils  from  all  parts  of  the  City.  In  this  particular 
case  of  1603  no  attempt  at  quarantine  was  made  until  July, 
when  it  was  found  that  “the  infection  of  the  plauge  doth 
greatly  increase  and  many  children  of  poore  men  in  most 
partes  of  this  citty,  dwelling  as  well  in  the  parishes  that  are 
infected  as  in  the  parishes  that  are  not,  come  to  this  house 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS 


207 


to  schoole  and  are  heer  taught,  which  is  very  daungerous 
to  the  children,  which  praised  be  to  God  are  yet  in  good 
health.”  Now  any  interference  with  the  pay-scholar  system 
needed  to  be  handled  gently,  for  it  was  almost  all  the 
masters  had  to  live  on.  Therefore,  when  the  Governors 
decreed  that  the  schools  should  be  “ dissolued  untill  it  shall 
please  God  the  infeccon  doe  cease  or  otherwise  untill 
Michaelmas  next,”  it  was  deemed  wise  to  send  for  the 
masters  and  “request  them  to  content  themselves  there- 
with ” and  “ wander  not  abroade.”  The  Hospital  children 
they  must  teach  where  and  as  well  as  they  can.  Again  in 
the  autumn  of  1637  there  was  an  outbreak  which  affected 
the  school  at  least  in  some  degree.  In  this  case  “ Mr 
Humphry  Waynman,  Maister  of  the  Lady  Ramsies  ffree 
Writing  School,”  was  not  able  to  “content  himself  therewith.” 
He  pleaded  that  “ keeping  schoole  ” had  been  “ forbidden  by 
Authority  in  the  sicknes  tyme  ” and  he  had  lost  considerably 
in  income.  Nor  had  the  plague  spared  his  family,  for  he  had 
“ lately  buryed  two  of  ye  sickness.”  So  the  Governors,  with 
a graceful  compliment  to  his  “great  care  and  paines,”  gave 
him  £10  as  a solatium.  Of  the  great  Visitation  of  1665 
there  is  no  notice  in  the  records  till  the  calamity  is  over- 
passed. In  December  of  that  year  practically  the  whole 
staff  took  advantage  of  the  Humphry  Waynman  precedent, 
and  have  left  us  some  interesting  reasons  for  so  doing.  They 
declared  (December  12th,  1665)  that  “during  all  this  time 
of  sickness  and  mortallitie  they  had  been  resident  and 
carefull  in  the  faithfull  discharge  of  their  severall  offices  and 
places  and  had  therein  been  exercised  with  extriordinary 
paines  and  trouble  about  the  poore  children  of  this  Hospitall. 
And  that  God  had  given  such  a blessing  to  their  endeavours 
that  all  this  time  of  sickness  not  more  than  32  children  of 
the  number  of  260  in  the  house  are  dead  of  all  deseases.” 
The  gifts  presented  to  them  amounted  to  £40  and  varied 
from  downwards,  but  Mr  Helmes,  the  Grammar  Master, 
who  represented  that  “ all  his  pay-schollers  were  dismist  by 
order,  which  was  the  greatest  parte  of  his  livelihood,”  re- 
ceived a separate  present  of  £10.  It  cannot  be  questioned 


208  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


that  these  practical  compliments  were  richly  deserved.  The 
Plague  had  come  to  the  very  doors  of  the  Hospital ; it  had 
been  announced  in  July  that  Pincock  (Pintock  or  Pentecost) 
Lane,  which  ran  into  what  is  now  King  Edward  Street,  was 
heavily  “ infected.”  As  it  was  full  of  slaughter-houses,  it  is 
not  wonderful  that  it  should  be.  Besides,  the  grounds  of 
the  Hospital  were  such  a public  thoroughfare  that  isolation 
of  any  effective  kind  must  have  been  exceedingly  difficult, 
especially  when  there  were  anxious  parents  in  all  parishes 
of  the  plague-stricken  city  wanting  to  be  assured  that  their 
“ Blue  ” children  were  safe. 

But  the  Great  Fire  showed  less  consideration,  and  its 
effect  was  recorded  on  the  minutes  by  some  scribe  within 
a few  days  and  perhaps  a few  hours  of  its  cessation.  “ It 
pleased  Almighty  God,”  says  the  chronicler,  “ by  a dreadful 
fyre  which  began  att  a house  in  Pudding  Lane  near  to  New 
Fish  Streete  to  burne  and  consume  the  3rd  parte  of  the  Citty 
of  London  with  some  parte  of  the  Freedom  to  Temple  Barr. 
Of  all  the  97  parishes  within  the  walls  but  12  are  standing 
and  St.  Sepulchres  and  St.  Bride’s  were  burnt  without  the 
walls.  This  terrible  fire  began  at  the  place  before  mentioned 
on  Sunday  morning  being  the  2nd  day  of  September,  1666, 
and  continued  about  4 dayes.  By  which  fire  this  hospitall 
of  Christ’s  was  almost  consumed  with  the  two  great  Churches 
adjoining,  excepting  the  4 cloysters  to  which  ye  fire  hath 
done  no  hurt  and  aboute  3 wards  towards  the  sickward  and 
severall  other  roomes  there,  as  also  the  wardrobe  of  this 
hospitall  over  the  south  cloyster,  the  glazed  windows  of  the 
church  on  that  side  being  very  little  damnified.” 

The  first  question  of  a kindly  reader  will  be  as  to  the  fate 
of  the  children,  and  happily  he  can  soon  be  reassured.  In 
recent  times  there  has  been  once  or  twice  a question  of 
the  sudden  removal  of  the  School  to  its  ultimate  home  in 
the  country,  and  someone  was  rude  enough  to  call  the 
project  a “policy  of  scuttle.”  But  the  Fire  showed  how 
successful  the  “policy  of  scuttle”  may  be  when  the  worst 
comes  to  the  worst.  It  attacked  the  Hospital  on  its  third 
day,  and  the  record,  headed  “Tuesday  night  40  Sept.  1666,” 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS 


209 


is  worth  giving  as  it  stands.  “The  children  in  this  Hospitall,” 
it  says,  “being  above  200,  were  imediately  carried  away  to 
the  Naggs  Head  Inn  att  Islington  belonging  to  the  Hospitall 
(which  then  stood  voyd)  and  after  the  nights  lodging  there 
they  were  receiued  into  the  new  Corporacon  neare  Clerkenwell, 
and  there  were  dyetted  for  4 dayes  att  5d  per  day  apeece,  and 
for  so  long  a time  as  they  continue  from  Saturday  8 Sept. 
1666  Mr  Poynts  the  Governor  is  to  have  6d  p.  day  apeece.” 
This  “Nagg’s  Head”  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  hostel 
, of  the  same  sign,  so  well  known  (by  name)  to  riders  in  North 
London  omnibuses,  and  had  then  recently  come  into  the 
possession  of  the  Hospital  by  the  gift  in  1662  of  Mr.  John 
Browne.  His  Islington  estate  was  intended  to  provide 
maintenance  for  “6  schollars”  at  Christ’s  and  Emmanuel 
Colleges,  Cambridge,  and  forms  to  this  day  the  bulk  of 
the  Exhibition  fund.  The  great  point  is  that  no  lives  are 
recorded  to  have  been  lost,  or  an  annual  whole  holiday  would 
hardly  have  been  given  on  September  2nd  to  commemorate 
the  event.  Besides,  the  Fire  had  given  only  too  unmistakable 
a warning  of  its  intention  to  visit  the  premises.  After  spending 
a week  on  Mr.  Poynts’s  “dyett”  at  Clerkenwell,  “viz1  the 
1 5°  Sept.  1666,”  sixty-two  of  the  children  were  sent  to 
Ware,  and  on  the  18th  fifty-six  to  Hertford,  being  boarded 
out  on  the  system  which  had  prevailed  from  the  beginning 
in  the  case  of  children  “ sent  to  nurse.”  The  rest  were 
huddled  into  what  remained  of  the  School. 

But  the  historian,  being  less  humane,  will  rather  want 
to  know  what  happened  to  the  buildings.  The  utter  dis- 
location of  school-work  was  a matter  of  course ; but  what 
of  the  fabric  ? Obviously,  it  suffered  severely,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  the  amount  of  debris  removed.  The  “ Dust 
and  Rubbish,”  says  the  Counting  House  chronicler,  “was 
ordered  to  be  cleered,  and  the  lead  and  iron  with  other 
serviceable  materialls  to  be  secured,  there  being  above  40 
labourers  imployed  aboute  doeing  the  same,  and  4 or  5 
others  to  oversee  them.”  The  great  church  of  the  Grey 
Friars  lay  to  the  windward  of  the  School  during  the  Fire, 
and  was  thus  attacked  first.  Whether  it  was  partially  or 

p 


210  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

completely  destroyed  must  be  discussed  elsewhere,  but  the 
mention  of  “ the  glazed  windows  being  very  little  damnified  ” 
does  not  look  like  absolute  ruin.  The  part  of  the  Hospital 
which  suffered  most  lay  on  its  east  front  and  bordered  on  the 
choir  of  Christ  Church.  Here  the  Counting  House  and  the 
Treasurer’s  House  disappeared,  though  there  was  evidently 
time  to  remove  the  archives,  and  with  these  went  at  least 
the  upper  part  of  the  “ Great  Dortor,”  which  formed  the  east 
side  of  the  Cloisters.  Away  at  the  west  end  of  the  site, 
nearer  to  St.  Sepulchre’s  Church  and  Pye  Corner,  from  the 
Hall,  which  formed  the  west  side  of  the  Cloisters,  to  the 
Infirmary  and  the  Kitchens  and  the  Bakehouse,  grievous 
havoc  was  wrought.  All  that  could  be  done  was  to  patch  up 
what  was  left,  and  the  first  thought  was  for  the  Counting 
House,  as  the  centre  of  all  organisation.  In  October  it  was 
ordered  that  “ the  rough  (roof)  of  the  south  easte  parte  of 
the  wardrobe  . . . which  was  almost  consumed  by  the  late 
ffire  should  be  forthwith  made  upp  and  fitted  for  a compting 
house,  And  that  other  Arch  on  the  back  thereof,  which 
is  ouer  the  porch  leading  to  Christ’s  Church,  on  which  some 
parte  of  the  Matrons  house  stood  should  be  likewise  made 
upp  for  to  secure  the  evidences  and  writings  belonging  to  . 
this  hospitall.”  But  elsewhere  the  ruins  were  actually 
dangerous  to  life ; indeed  it  is  clear  that  the  cloisters  were 
not  at  all  safe  before.  Two  years  previously  (May  24th, 
1664),  an  order  had  been  given  that  “the  children  should 
noe  longer  wash  dishes  in  their  wards  for  that  the  Arches 
of  the  Cloysters  are  much  damnified.”  It  was  now  arranged 
that  “ the  Cloysters  should  be  made  upp  with  boardes  as 
lately  they  were  ...  to  keep  the  children  and  others  of  the 
House  from  goeing  under  those  cloysters,  which  are  thought 
to  be  very  dangerous  since  the  late  fire,  haueing  received 
very  much  raine.”  In  fact,  so  much  had  to  be  done  that 
it  was  only  in  November  1667,  after  an  exile  of  fourteen 
months,  that  the  children  were  restored  to  their  several  wards, 

“ now  made  fitt  and  convenient  for  them.” 

But  besides  destruction  of  buildings  the  Fire  was  a trial  in 
other  ways.  Christ  Church  needed  some  repairs  before  it 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS  21 1 

was  suited  for  Divine  Service,  and  the  few  score  of  children 
who  remained  among  the  ruins  could  not  be  left  in  heathen- 
ism ; so  it  fell  to  “ Mr  Keyes,  usher  of  the  Gramer  Schoole,” 
to  “read  prayers  to  the  children  on  Sabboth  Day  and  other 
feast  dayes  till  such  time  as  the  Court  take  further  order 
therein.”  Then,  with  less  than  seventy  pupils  on  the 
premises,  the  masters  were  having  too  easy  a time,  and  it 
was  resolved  to  “ take  off  such  officers  as  are  useless,  to  abate 
the  charge  which  this  house  is  at.”  Away  went  Mr.  James, 
the  Writing  Master,  whose  alcoholic  “disguise”  has  already 
been  mentioned,  and  the  Song-School  Master  followed  him. 
The  Doctor  and  the  Porter  found  their  salaries  halved,  and 
several  others  were  “ abated  ” in  various  proportions,  to  the 
sparing  of  the  Hospital’s  pocket  by  £160  8.r.  8d.  per  annum. 
The  Treasurer,  William  Gibbon,  was  also  in  a bad  way,  and 
wanted  to  resign.  It  “ had  pleased  Almighty  God  very 
much  to  impaire  his  estate  by  the  late  Fire,”  but  what  he 
seems  to  have  felt  still  more  was  the  “ lameness  in  one  of  his 
Leggs .”  He  was,  it  would  seem,  of  a nervous  temperament, 
for,  the  moment  they  told  him  to  go  on  in  his  office  and 
“ cheerfully  to  execute  the  same,”  he  took  courage  and  did  as 
he  was  told, — at  least  for  some  years.  The  Treasurer’s 
complaint  that  his  estate  was  impaired  must  have  come  home 
with  tenfold  force  to  the  Governing  Body.  A large  amount 
of  their  income  was  in  City  rents,  and  they  had  houses  both 
in  Pudding  Lane  and  at  Pie  Corner.  The  Chief  Clerk’s 
letter  to  the  tenants  on  this  subject  will  give  a fair  idea  of 
the  task  that  lay  before  all  City  house-owners,  whose  property 
had  lain  in  the  pathway  of  the  Visitation. 


“ October  2,  1666. 

“ I am  commanded  by  the  Governors  of  Christ’s  Hospitall 
to  send  you  the  precept  [from  Guildhall]  here  inclosed  ; pray 
forthwith  repaire  to  the  ground  whereon  your  house  or 
houses  stood,  take  with  you  workmen  and  let  them  take  the 
dimencons  of  every  particular  Building  and  ground  you  held 
of  the  said  Christ  Hospitall,  which  when  you  have  done  and 
subscribed  the  same,  bring  it  to  the  Beadle’s  booth  in  the 
ward  where  your  house  or  houses  stood,  and  a copy  thereof 


2i2  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

to  me  at  Mr  Hyde’s  house,  Glazier,  against  the  Pump  in 
Little  Brittaine,  where  you  shall  be  sure  to  hear  of  him 

Morning  or  Evening  who  is  Yrs  TT7  „ 

\Vm  Parrey. 

Happily  the  Hospital  had  large  estates  in  the  country 
then,  as,  unhappily,  it  has  to-day,  and  somehow  the  great 
organisation  managed  to  pull  along.  Even  the  stream  of 
University  “Scholars”  trickled  on,  for  George  Cox  went  to 
Peterhouse  in  the  January  after  the  Fire,  prepared  for  that 
purpose  by  Shadrach  Helmes,  the  Grammar  Master,  who  had 
lost  both  his  residence  and  his  “ pay-schollers  ” and  had  had 
grievous  cause  to  remember  these  “ two  great  visitacons.” 

But  it  is  time  to  consider  the  effect  on  the  life  of  this 
Royal  Foundation  of  the  various  national  upheavals  which 
have  altered  the  face  of  the  political  ground  for  the  country 
at  large.  Of  course,  certain  allowance  must  be  made  if  the 
signs  of  these  disturbances  are  few  and  far  between  in  the 
records  of  an  institution  so  shut  in  as  Christ’s  Hospital,  and 
withal  so  identified  with  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of 
London.  At  most  of  its  Courts  and  Committees  the 
majority  present  were  Aldermen,  Deputies,  or  Common 
Councilmen  ; all  but  a very  few  were  resident  within  the 
walls  of  the  City.  Therefore,  in  times  of  political  tension, 
the  school  felt  what  the  City  felt ; for  the  predilections  of 
masters  were  scarcely  taken  into  account,  and  the  “poore 
children  ” would  not  be  considered  to  have  any  predilections 
at  all.  Nevertheless,  it  is  strange  to  find  crucial  events 
like  the  execution  of  Charles  passing  without  so  much  as 
a reference  in  the  voluminous  records  of  Courts  and  Com- 
mittees. There  was  a meeting  of  these  worthy  citizens  five 
days  before  the  trial  of  the  King  began  at  Westminster 
Hall,  there  was  another  within  three  weeks  after  “that 
memorable  scene  ” outside  Whitehall ; but  the  school’s 
government  must  be  carried  on,  whether  Kings  keep  their 
heads  or  lose  them,  and  instead  of  passing  a resolution  of 
confidence  in  the  substituted  Government  at  the  first  meeting, 
after  so  dire  an  event,  they  had  an  amicable  conversation 
with  “ the  Earle  of  Lincolns  Steward  ” about  the  felling  of 


FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  I!EV.  D.  F.  HEYWOOD 


% 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS  213 

“some  old  Elme  Trees  out  of  the  garden  in  Tuthill  Streete 
in  Westminster,  which  doth  belong  to  this  house.”  What- 
ever their  actual  feelings  were,  they  did  not  allow  sentiment 
to  impede  business,  and,  with  the  rest  of  the  citizens,  they 
fell  in  with  the  new  order  of  things.  In  December  1649 
“ Mr  Wickins  the  Steward  is  appointed  to  goe  to  such 
Gouverners  of  this  house  as  weare  not  at  this  Court  to  take 
their  Subscriptions  to  ye  Engagement  appointed  by  ye 
Parliament  and  ordered  bye  Lord  Maior  and  Court  of  Aider- 
men  to  bee  subscribed  unto.”  It  was  evidently  unnecessary 
to  persuade  them  to  sign  it. 

But  for  some  years  previously  the  distress  of  the  nation 
had  been  unconsciously  mirrored  in  the  minutes  of  the  Court- 
meetings.  For  example,  in  June  1646,  the  executor  of  some 
benefactor,  who  would  feel  himself  a persona  grata,  petitioned 
the  Governors  to  “admitte  of  a poore  man’s  child  into  this 
hospitall  whose  father  was  slayne  in  ye  wares.”  There  was 
a difficulty  here,  for  the  father  was  not  a freeman  of  the  City, 
but  they  granted  the  request  on  the  understanding  that  it 
should  not  be  made  a precedent.  The  stress  of  the  times, 
however,  was  brought  home  to  the  Hospital  in  a still  more 
practical  way,  for  the  tenants  fell  into  arrears  with  their  rent, 
and  craved  all  manner  of  indulgence.  One  urged  “ye  great 
hindrances  and  losses  wch  he  hath  sustayned  ” and  “ the  many 
taxes  which  hath  been  laid  uppon  him.”  A certain  Mrs. 
Sharfield  of  Wiltshire  “ hath  received  for  yc  space  of  four 
years  (to  1646)  not  above  tenn  pounds  pr.  ann.  out  of  ye  said 
lands,  ye  rest  haveing  beene  kept  and  held  from  her  by  ye 
King’s  forces,”  and  from  her  the  Governors  accepted  ,£100, 
where  she  owed  £^169.  In  October  1647  came  the  kins- 
woman of  a Mr.  Howlet,  who  had  given  the  Hospital  some 
land  at  East  Bedfont,  and  begged  the  Court  to  “take  into 
consideracon  the  miserable  and  hard  condicon  that  she  is 
now  in  in  regard  of  the  soldiers  being  there  who  from  tyme 
to  tyme  have  layne  quartering  and  billeting  at  her  house,  and 
have  taken  all  her  butter  cheese  beere  and  all  other  pro- 
uisions  as  well  horse  meate  as  Man’s  meate  to  her  great 
detriment  and  almost  her  utter  undoing.”  And  the  diffi- 


214  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


culties  extended  from  the  Governors’  real  property  to  their 
invested  funds.  Lady  Cleere  had  left  them  ^ioo  in  1644  to 
provide  for  a schoolmistress  to  teach  the  girls  to  “read  and 
work,”  and  this  had  been  “ put  forth  into  ye  Exize  Office 
at  8;£  per  hundred”;  but  in  1647  the  question  naturally 
arose  “ wheather  they  would  continew  it  there  any  longer  or 
remove  it  into  some  other  hands  for  more  saftie.”  Till  that 
“saftie”  should  return,  a private  person  borrowed  it  at  six 
per  cent.,  and  half  a century  later,  when  Dutch  William  was 
established  on  the  throne,  this  hundred  pounds,  together  with 
a larger  sum,  the  gift,  in  1599,  of  Peter  Blundell,  of  Tiverton 
fame,  went  towards  the  purchase  of  houses  in  Pancras  Lane, 
where  it  is  “ as  safe  as  houses  ” to  this  day. 

Of  the  religious  changes  in  our  history,  whether  due  to 
politics  or  independent  of  them,  the  records  of  the  “ Religious 
Foundation”  show  little  or  no  trace.  It  goes  without  saying, 
that  the  sympathies  of  the  School,  as  the  offspring  of  the 
Reformation,  remained  more  or  less  Protestant.  The  only 
question  is  how  far  it  developed  from  Protestant  into  Puritan, 
how  far  it  swerved  from  the  Church  towards  the  “ Sectaries.” 
Fundamentally,  it  would  appear  that  there  was  no  such 
change;  for  the  first  thing  to  suffer  in  such  a case  would 
be  the  hitherto  and,  till  1891,  universal  teaching  of  the 
Church  Catechism.  Yet,  in  1638,  the  very  year  of  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  the  Governors  took  “ into 
consideration  Mr.  Vicars  his  greate  care  and  paines”  as 
Catechizer  and  added  ffiue  pounds  ” to  his  “ sellery,”  and 
in  1643,  when  Puritanism  had  made  great  advances,  the 
whole  system  of  Church  doctrine  was  settled  on  a better 
basis  in  connexion  with  the  special  benefaction  for  that 
purpose  of  “ Mrs  Margaret  Wale,  Widdowe.”  There  is,  of 
course,  no  guarantee  that  the  Catechizer  under  the  Common- 
wealth did  not  adapt  his  interpretation  to  the  views  of  the 
day,  and  in  the  case  of  Vicars  the  probability  is  that  he  did 
so,  but  he  received  his  stipend  for  expounding  the  tenets  of 
the  Church  of  England  “three  tymes  euery  weeke  an  hower  at 
a tyme  by  an  hower-glasse.”  In  other  and  less  important 
ways,  the  notions  of  the  Puritans  found  their  way  into  the 


OF  GREAT  OCCASIONS  215 

Hospital.  For  instance,  there  was  a “ stalwart  in  the 
Counting  House,  who  vented  his  “independence”  on  the 
minutes,  wherever  he  was  dealing  with  a Saint.  In  the 
lists  of  children  admitted  he  had  to  give  the  parishes  from 
which  they  came,  and  up  to  1639  he  was  content,  perhaps 
under  protest,  to  call  a Saint  a Saint ; but  in  1647  I16  begins 
to  have  his  own  way,  and  having  once  written  “ St.  Nicholas 
Accon,”  and  being  obliged  to  mention  the  parish  a second 
time,  he  writes  “Nicholas  Accon”;  for  the  rest  the  parishes 
must  be  satisfied  in  1647  and  1648  with  appearing  as 
“Martins  in  the  Fields,”  “ Olaues  Hartstreete,”  “Dunstons 
West,”  “Mary  Ouers  in  Southwarke,”  and  “John  Zacharies,” 
while  poor  “ St.  Leonard  Foster  ” is  stripped  to  the  bareness 
of  “ fibsters.” 

But  the  Civil  War  made  havoc  of  two  important  classes, 
the  scholars  for  the  Universities  and  the  presentees  to 
benefices.  In  regard  to  the  first,  the  disturbed  state  of  the 
two  Universities  made  progress  difficult,  but  whatever  was 
the  reason,  only  two  exhibitioners,  one  for  Cambridge  and 
one  for  Oxford,  left  the  Hospital  between  1641  and  1657. 
There  was  no  such  scarceness  for  fifty  years  before,  and 
no  such  ever  since.  As  to  the  clergy  one  instance  must 
suffice.  In  1649  Mr.  Aims,  or  Amyes,  vicar  of  Horley,  was 
summoned  to  the  Court  “ to  answere  a complaint  made 
against  him  for  absenting  himselfe  from  his  cure  for  six 
weekes  together,  in  all  wch  tyme  he  hath  not  preached  to 
his  parishioners  there,  but  left  them  destitute.”  His  reply 
would  be  anxiously  awaited  by  the  Governors  who  at  this 
time  were  sworn  foes  to  clerical  pluralism,  and  it  may  be 
considered  adequate.  “It  was,”  he  said,  “in  regard  of  some 
troubles  that  Mr.  Jourdaine  and  3 or  4 more  of  ye  Parish 
which  hee  saith  are  Annabaptists  had  brought  upon  him 
by  accusing  him  to  y°  Parliament  for  being  a Malignant. 
Whereupon  he  was  summoned  upp  to  London  to  see  what 
they  would  charge  him  withall  and  feed  Counsell  to  pleade  for 
him,  and  afterwards  they  used  means  to  imprission  him,  and 
so  deprived  him  of  his  libertie,  and  is  at  this  present  as  hee 
alleadgeth  by  their  means  sequestered  from  his  living,  soe 


2 1 6 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


that  hee  could  not  performe  his  dutie  and  office  as  otherwise 
hee  would  have  done.”  The  poor  wretch  intimated  that 
he  would  get  quit  of  the  sequestration  “ and  make  his  peace 
if  hee  may,”  or  else  resign.  It  would  appear  that  he  managed 
to  agree  with  his  enemies  in  the  gate,  and  the  state  of  his 
purse  must  have  told  him  that  it  was  high  time,  since  for 
a year  past  he  had  had  “ but  4^  for  his  labour  and  paines 
bestowed  amongst  them,  whereof  hee  saith  hee  hath  paid 
aboute  £3.  10.  to  ye  P’liament.” 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES 


“ The  time  would  fail  me  if  I were  to  attempt  to  enumerate  all  those  circum- 
stances, some  pleasant,  some  attended  with  some  pain,  which,  seen  through  the 
mist  of  distance,  come  sweetly  softened  to  the  memory.” — Charles  Lamb. 

THE  SPITAL  SERMONS 

IT  was  inevitable  that  Christ’s  Hospital  should  not  only 
have  its  part  in  the  celebration  of  public  events  and  the 
endurance  of  public  calamities,  but  also  that  it  should  create 
its  own  environment  of  quaint  custom  and  regular  ob- 
servance. Of  these  the  oldest  and  the  most  permanent  is 
the  Easter  ceremony,  including  the  Spital  Sermons,  whose 
history  is  longer  than  that  of  the  School.  But  the  changes 
in  the  custom  and  the  constant  association  of  the  “ Blues  ” 
with  it  from  1553  onwards  have  almost  established  the  right 
of  the  Hospital  to  claim  the  function  as  its  own,  though  it 
is  still  technically  arranged  by  the  Corporation  of  the  City. 
The  Town  Clerk  applies  to  the  vicar  for  the  use  of  Christ 
Church  and  the  vicar  only  sees  who  is  to  occupy  the  pulpit 
through  the  kindness  of  his  newspaper.  But  it  may  be 
well  here  to  give  further  details.  “Touching  the  antiquitie 
of  this  custome,”  says  Stow,  it  is  not  possible  to  be  more 
definite  than  to  date  it  to  “ time  out  of  minde.”  He  gives  a 
reference  to  a proclamation  by  Richard  II.  which  was  “read 
and  pronounced  at  Paules  Cross  and  Saint  Marie  Spittle 
in  the  sermons  before  all  the  people.’’  Philip  Malpas, 
Sheriff,  in  1439  “gave  twenty  shillings  by  the  yeare  to  the 
three  preachers  at  the  Spittle.”  Stephen  Forster,  Mayor, 
in  1454  “gave  fortie  pounds  to  the  Preachers  at  Paules  Crosse 


217 


2 1 8 ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


and  the  Spittle,”  more  probably  as  an  endowment  than  in 
fees  for  a single  year.  It  is  therefore  possible  to  assume  that 
the  custom  is  two  centuries  older  than  Christ’s  Hospital. 
But  first  as  to  the  places  of  observance.  Paul’s  Cross  and 
its  history  and  position  are  known  to  everyone,  but  in  the 
sixteenth  century  it  shared  the  honours  with  a similar  cross 
at  St.  Mary  Spital  (i.e.  Hospital)  which  stood  in  a spacious 
square.  “It  was  an  hospital  of  greate  reliefe,”  says  Stow,  and 
in  his  time  “ the  large  Church  yeard  ” remained  “ as  of  olde 
time.”  Within  hearing  distance  of  the  pulpit  stood  “one 
faire  builded  house  of  two  stories  in  height  for  the  Maior 
and  other  honourable  persons  with  the  Aldermen  and 
Sheriffes  to  sit  in  ” and  “ in  the  loft  over  them  stood  the 
Bishop  of  London  and  other  prelates.”  The  civic  ladies 
“ stande  at  a fayre  window  or  sit  at  their  pleasure.”  As 
for  the  “ Blues,”  who,  again  according  to  Stow,  first  wore 
their  “blew”  at  the  Spital  in  1553,  it  is  probable  that  here  as 
elsewhere  they  had  at  first  to  be  content  to  stand  and  defy 
the  elements.  Nor  were  they  the  only  sufferers  in  this 
respect,  for  several  years  later  (Guildhall  Records,  Letter 
Book  v.  139b)  at  a Court  in  1567  it  was  ordered  “that  the 
Chamberlyn  at  the  Cytyes  charge  shall  cause  the  guttur 
whereby  the  rayne  water  falleth  vppon  the  officers  of  the 
Cytie  and  others  attendinge  vppon  my  lord  maior  and  my 
masters  the  aldermen  in  the  sermon  tyme  at  Paules  Crosse 
to  be  turned  and  diverted  from  the  place  where  yt  now 
falleth.”  For  these  Paul’s  Cross  audiences,  however,  there 
was  plenty  of  refuge  near  at  hand,  and  one  instance  is  on 
record  where,  in  1561,  the  rain  was  so  heavy  that  it  was 
impossible  to  “pryche  at  Powlles  Crosse”  and  the  service 
was  held  at  the  Grey  Friars,  otherwise  Christ  Church.  But 
at  the  Spital  shelter  was  not  so  plentiful;  so  in  1565  the 
Governors  went  to  the  expense  of  a “ tilt,”  or  tent,  to  cover 
the  children,  and  in  1593,  Alderman  William  Elkine,  whose 
attendance  at  the  sermons  had  perhaps  shown  him  the  patent 
deficiencies  of  the  “ tilt,”  left  Christ’s  Hospital  a sum  sufficient 
“ for  the  building  of  a house  at  St.  Mary’s  Hospital,  for  the 
Governors  and  children  to  sit  in  at  Easter  times.  Aftei 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  219 

over  twenty  years’  service  the  “tilt”  might  well  have  expected 
to  gain  a well-earned  retirement.  But  the  Governors  had 
a frugal  mind,  and  they  cut  it  up,  or  what  was  left  of  it, 
to  make  coverings  for  the  straw  on  which  the  children  slept. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  case  when  they  had  a house  to 
assemble  in,  the  Governors  could  not  always  rely  on  finding 
their  previous  place  unoccupied  when  they  presented  them- 
selves to  hear  the  sermons.  For  it  is  stated  in  the  Court 
minutes  of  1578  : — 

‘Thomas  Stone  and  other  Beadles  havinge  missbehaued 
their  selfe  on  Wednisdaie  in  the  easter  weke  last  past  by 
oppressinge  the  scaffolde  with  so  manie  people  that  neyther 
the  gounors  nor  yet  the  children  cold  haue  anie  place  in 
the  sermon  tyme,  and  farther  by  reason  of  theire  excessive 
takinge  of  mony  hathe  raised  soche  displeasure  of  the 
citizens  that  there  is  greate  anoyance  thereby  towards  the 
gounors  of  this  Hospitall,  whereuppon  the  Court  hathe  ordered 
that  Thomas  Stone  shall  delr  up  his  stafife  and  be  dismyssed 
of  his  place  Duringe  the  Gounors  pleasure.’ 

At  some  date,  which  I have  failed  to  discover — save  that 
it  was  subsequent  to  1680 — the  preaching  at  the  Spital 
ceased,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  there  were  any  sermons  at  Paul’s 
Cross  after  1643.  Indeed,  in  1641,  when  Richard  Vines,  of 
the  Westminster  Assembly,  was  the  preacher,  the  service  was 
held  in  Christ  Church,  as  stated  on  the  printed  copy  of  his 
sermon  entitled  “The  Impostures  of  Seducing  Teachers.” 
The  Restoration  gave  back  the  custom  to  the  City,  but  the 
venue  was  changed  to  St.  Bride’s,  Fleet  Street,  till  in  1797 
Christ  Church,  Newgate  Street,  became  its  permanent  home. 

So  much  for  the  place.  Of  what  did  the  observance 
consist?  Apparently  of  preaching  only,  but  of  preaching 
in  plenty.  Returning  to  Stow,  we  find  that  the  sermons 
began  on  Good  Friday  at  Paul’s  Cross  with  one  “treating 
of  Christ’s  passion  ” ; and  “ upon  the  three  next  Easter  holy 
dayes,  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday,  three  preaching 
in  the  forenoone  at  the  Spittle”  had  “to  persuade  the 
Article  of  Christ’s  resurrection  ” ; the  following  Sunday, 
Low  Sunday,  “ one  other  learned  man  ” (who  presumably 


220  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

had  endured  the  discourses  of  his  predecessors  with  a sense 
of  delight  that  he  was  not  to  be  semper  auditor  tantum ) 
made  “ rehearsall  of  those  foure  former  sermons,  either  com- 
mending or  reprouing  them  as  to  him  by  judgment  of  the 
learned  Divines  was  thought  convenient.”  That  done,  he 
preached  a discourse  of  his  own  to  show  the  others  how 
they  ought  to  have  managed  their  task.  The  appointment 
of  these  Easter  preachers  was  long  a bone  of  contention 
between  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the  City.  It  seems 
clear  that  the  Corporation  nominated  those  at  the  Spital 
and  the  Bishop  those  at  Paul’s  Cross.  The  result  was  not 
always  seemly,  especially  if  the  Bishop  had  a grudge  against 
the  City;  indeed  there  is  a letter  from  the  Guildhall  to  John 
Aylmer,  Bishop  of  London,  dated  September  6th,  1581, 
which,  while  not  referring  to  an  Easter  sermon,  displays  the 
inconveniences  of  the  system.  His  lordship’s  chaplain  had 
recently  preached  at  Paul’s  Cross,  and  had  taken  the  oppor- 
tunity to  “ publicly  defame  to  their  faces  ” the  citizens  who 
would  have  to  provide  him  with  the  fee  for  his  sermon.  He 
told  them  that,  if  such  as  they  appointed  the  “ Paulies  ” 
preachers,  “ they  would  appoint  such  as  would  defend  usury, 
the  family  of  love,  and  puritanism.”  Naturally  the  citizens 
“ desired  his  lordship  to  take  order  that  he  should  make 
reparation  for  their  good  fame.”  The  quarrel  became  more 
serious  when  the  Bishop  (this  time  John  King,  the  sixth 
occupant  of  the  see  of  London  since  Aylmer’s  death  in 
1 595,  or  five  in  fifteen  years!)  claimed  the  nomination  of 
all  the  Easter  divines.  Just  before  Easter  1616  (March  8) 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  Court  of  Aldermen  sent  him  a long 
letter  reminding  him  of  their  undoubted  right.  They  had 
always  appointed  the  Spital  preachers,  and  had  acquainted 
him  with  their  names,  not  of  necessity  but  of  courtesy ; 
but  the  Bishop  had  forbidden  one  of  their  nominees  to 
preach,  and  “ said  he  would  forbid  the  rest.”  The  Bishop, 
they  continued,  had  better  understand  that  such  action 
“ will  be  displeasing  to  the  citizens  and  hinder  their  wonted 
charity.”  In  other  words  the  Bishop  will  not  get  the  use 
of  the  Mansion  House  for  a Bishop  of  London’s  Fund 


1'HQTO  GRAPH  liY  THE  REV.  L>.  F.  HEVWOOD 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  221 


meeting.  However,  the  honours  remained  with  the  City 
and  the  Aldermen  ; they  continued  to  nominate  the  Spital 
preachers,  as  is  shown  by  their  letter  of  February  7th,  1618, 
to  Dr.  John  Prideaux,  who  by  the  way  declined  their  invi- 
tation “because  his  daily  employment  in  the  University 
(Oxford)  gave  him  no  time  to  fit  himself  for  such  a 
business.”  The  privilege  which  the  City  maintained  in  the 
face  of  the 'Bishop  was  increased  by  the  Parliament.  In 
September  1642  the  Lords  and  Commons,  hearing  that  the 
City  was  entrusted  with  “ satisfaction  & provision  of  and 
for  all  ministers  that  preach  at  Pawles  Church,  Pawles 
Crosse,  the  Spittle,  and  other  places,”  and  “ that  at  later 
times  many  unsound,  unfaithful  and  unprofitable  ministers” 
have  been  preaching  sermons  which  “ tended  more  to  Popery 
and  sedition  than  edification  and  wholesome  instruction,” 
gave  orders  that  “ during  these  times  of  distraction  ” the 
Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  should  nominate  all  the 
preachers.  It  is  in  virtue  of  this  trust  that  Sunday  morn- 
ing preachers  at  St.  Paul’s  Cathedral  sjtill  receive  their  fee 
from  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  Corporation. 

The  whole  ceremony  bears  witness  to  the  healthy  appetite 
for  sermons  shown  by  the  Londoners  of  old  time.  They 
liked  them  often  and  they  liked  them  long.  Take  the  case* 
of  three  brothers  named  Wincope,  “ called  from  places  remote 
one  from  another,”  who  in  Easter  Week  1632  preached  on 
the  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday,  “agreeing  so  nicely 
on  their  subject,  that  the  second  continued  what  the  first 
began,  and  the  third  brought  it  to  a conclusion.”  Even  the 
Restoration,  which  shortened  the  five  sermons  to  three,  did 
not  have  much  effect  on  their  individual  length.  Mr.  Pepys, 
whose  church-going  diligence  is  not  hid  under  a bushel, 
visited  the  Spital  festival  more  than  once. 

‘April  2.  1662.  Mr  Moore  came  to  me  and  he  and  I 
walked  to  the  Spittle  an  houre  or  two  before  my  Lord 
Mayor  and  the  blewe-coat  boys  come,  which  at  last  they 
did,  and.  a fine  sight  of  charity  it  is  indeed.  We  got  places 
and  staid  to  hear  a sermon,  but,  it  being  a Presbyterian 

* Chiswell,  New  View,  a.d.  1708,  p.  77. 


222  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


one,  was  so  long  that  after  above  an  houre  of  it  we  went 
away.’ 

‘April  13.  1669.  I by  hackney  coach  to  the  Spittle  and 
heard  a piece  of  a dull  sermon  to  My  Lord  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  and  thence  saw  them  all  take  horse  and  ride 
away,  which  I have  not  seen  together  many  a day ; their 
wives  also  went  in  their  coaches ; and  indeed  the  sight  was 
mighty  pleasing.’ 

Mr.  Pepys’  impression  of  length  and  dulness  (though  he 
is  perhaps  not  the  best  of  authorities  on  the  latter)  is  sub- 
stantiated by  facts.  Isaac  Barrow  was  Spital  Preacher  in 
1671,  and  the  City  requested  him  to  print  the  sermon  “with 
what  further  he  had  prepared  to  deliver  at  that  time.”  Who 
got  exhausted  first,  audience  or  orator,  is  not  on  record ; but 
in  the  large  print  octavo,  in  which  Barrow  published  it,  the 
discourse  occupies  230  pages.  Its  text  was  “the  Duty  and 
Reward  of  Bounty  to  the  Poor,”  and  Tillotson’s  comment 
may  be  allowed  to  pass  that  “ it  seems  to  have  exhausted  the 
whole  argument  and  to  have  left  no  consideration  belonging 
to  it  untouch’d.”  Nor  is  it  wonderful  that  Barrow  after 
preaching  a second  Spital  sermon  in  1677  “never  preached 
but  once  more.”  Again,  by  the  kindness  of  a friend  I possess 
a copy  of  Dr  Samuel  Parr’s  famous  effort  on  April  15th, 
1800,  soon  after  the  Easter  services  were  removed  to  Christ 
Church.  It  is  a small  printed  quarto,  there  are  twenty-four 
pages  of  sermon  (of  which  he  confesses  to  having  omitted 
two  in  the  pulpit)  and  124  pages  of  elaborate  notes.  It  is 
recorded  that  the  Lord  Mayor  of  the  day,  in  complimenting 
the  untiring  preacher,  ventured  a remark  to  the  effect  that 
there  were  four  things  during  the  sermon  which  he  had  been 
very  sorry  to  hear.  “ Dear,  dear,  my  lord,”  said  the  Doctor, 
“what  were  they?”  “Sir,”  came  his  lordship’s  reply,  “I 
mean  the  quarters  struck  by  the  church  clock.”  But  the 
laugh  was  not  always  with  the  Chief  Magistrate.  Bishop 
Warburton,  who  accepted  an  invitation  to  the  usual  Easter 
Banquet  after  the  service,  was  expressly  thanked  by  the 
Lord  Mayor  on  behalf  of  the  Common  Council,  “for  that 
this  was  the  first  time  he  ever  heard  them  prayed  for.”  The 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  223 

Bishop  blandly  answered:  “Not  at  all:  I considered  them 
as  a body  who  much  needed  the  prayers  of  the  Church.” 

The  three  sermons  that  used  to  be  delivered  at  St.  Bride’s 
were  reduced  to  two  when  the  scene  was  changed  to  Christ 
Church,  and  now  for  twenty  years  there  has  been  but  one 
and  that  on  Easter  Tuesday.  The  Bishop  who  preaches  is 
nominated  according  to  the  rota  of  consecration  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  Easter  holidays  no  longer 
begin  with  the  last  words  of  the  benediction,  as  they  did  in 
my  time,  with  terrible  effects  on  our  attention,  and  the 
patience  of  the  young  audience  is  rarely  tried  by  more  than 
thirty  minutes — with  a leaning  to  mercy.  But  the  trying 
ordeals  of  old  time  are  part  of  the  history  of  Christ’s 
Hospital.  Several  hundred  children  had  to  listen  while 
Isaac  Barrow  droned  on  for  three  hours  and  a half.  Let 
us  hope  they  were  prepared  for  it  by  the  knowledge  that 
at  Westminster  Abbey  the  organ  had  once  been  started 
before  his  sermon  was  anything  like  finished,  to  remind  him 
of  the  flight  of  time  and  the  frailty  of  human  powers  of 
attention. 

But,  in  regard  to  the  part  played  by  the  School  at  this 
ancient  function,  one  or  two  customs  deserve  mention.  It  was 
natural  that  a prudent  body  like  the  Governors  should  turn 
what  Pepys  called  this  “ fine  sight  of  charity  ” to  a practical 
use,  and  certainly  about  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century 
it  was  their  habit  to  make  what  they  could  out  of  it.  In 
1676  the  Treasurer  and  two  Governors  “are  desired  to  waite 
upon  the  Ministers  that  preach  at  the  Spittle  and  to  desire 
them  to  press  Charity.”  At  the  same  time,  on  the  principle 
of  beginning  their  charity  at  home,  two  other  Governors  were 
desired  to  go  with  the  Treasurer  “to  the  Spittle  about  a 
Seate  for  the  Governors  to  sitt  in  at  Easter  ” ; perhaps  their 
tired  legs  still  recalled  the  three  hours  and  a half  of  Isaac 
Barrow  s sermon.  But,  lest  Charity  should  seem  too  in- 
definite a plea,  it  was  arranged  in  1680  that  the  Treasurer 
and  his  selected  colleagues  should  “ attend  the  Divines  that 
are  to  preach  att  Spittle  next  Easter  and  presse  them  to  move 
the  Auditors  to  remember  the  poore  children  of  this  Hospitall 


224  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


in  their  sermonds.”  This  is  not  to  imply  that  there  was  any 
collection  at  the  close  of  the  service  but  that  the  Treasurer 
was  willing  to  receive  the  smallest  contributions  at  the  Count- 
ing House.  And  the  gift  of  Edward  Arris  in  1670  will 
serve  to  show  that  the  benefactions  were  not  always  as  wise 
as  they  were  generous.  At  this  very  period  when  the 
preachers  were  “ pressing  Charity  ” he  left  £100,  the  interest 
to  “bee  laid  out  for  ever  in  gloves  for  the  Children  to  be 
worne  euery  Easter  when  they  waite  upon  the  Lord  Maior 
to  St  Maries  Spittle.”  A pair  of  gloves  is  a useful  present,  as 
every  “Blue”  feels  on  Easter  Tuesdays,  but  the  benefaction 
can  scarcely  have  come  up  to  the  Treasurer’s  requirements. 
Arris  added  a condition  “that  every  child  may  have  upon 
his  gloves  (Court  Book,  July  5th,  1670)  a paper  with  these 
words  printed  in  legible  characters  (p)ee  tS  rlfcn).”  How  the 
paper  was  kept  on  the  gloves  is  not  stated,  and  the  difficulty 
of  the  operation  soon  caused  it  to  be  pinned  on  the  left 
breast,  as  every  Blue  now  in  middle  life  will  well  remember. 
The  pious  surgeon  desired  his  young  friends  to  keep  the  fact 
of  the  Resurrection  in  mind  on  their  annual  outing,  and  it 
may  have  had  this  effect  in  many  cases ; but  in  Leigh  Hunt’s 
day,  the  legend  suffered  from  a rude  admixture  of  Anti- 
Semitism,  which  he  illustrates  with  the  couplet — 

“ He  is  risen,  He  is  risen, 

All  the  Jews  must  go  to  prison.” 

In  my  day  the  Gothic  “s”  and  the  Volunteer  movement 
corrupted  it  by  a greater  effort  of  youthful  folly  into  ‘ He 
is  a Rifleman.”  At  this  rate  one  need  not  regret  that  after 
two  hundred  years  of  existence  the  wearing  of  the  legend 
came  to  an  end  about  1877. 

Another  custom,  more  acceptable  to  the  boys  personally 
as  a relief  to  their  pockets,  if  a trial  to  their  pride,  takes 
them  on  Easter  Tuesday  to  the  Mansion  House  an  hour  or 
two  before  the  time  fixed  for  the  sermon.  When  this  custom 
began,  I have  been  unable  to  discover.  The  Easter  cere- 
monies have  for  long  been  characterised  by  a procession 
eastward.  Thus  there  is  an  order  of  March  24th,  1681,  to 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  225 


the  effect  that  the  Masters  are  to  wait  upon  the  Lord  Mayor 
with  the  children,  that  “ the  Mathematical!  children  ” are  “ to 
carry  a Ruler  & Compasse,  the  Writing  children  to  have 
a red  pen  in  their  eare,  and  the  Reading  Scholars  to  have  a 
Bible  or  Testament  in  their  hands”;  and  in  Trollope’s  time 
something  of  the  same  sort  still  prevailed.  In  his  day,  the 
boys,  as  they  passed  before  the  Lord  Mayor,  received  six- 
pence each,  the  monitors  a shilling,  and  the  Grecians  half 
a guinea.  Lord  Mayor  William  Thompson  in  1828  showed 
his  well-known  favour  to  the  “ Blues  ” by  doubling  the 
gift  in  each  case,  and  his  successors  have  not  risked  their 
popularity  in  the  Hospital  by  a return  to  the  original  amount. 
It  was  the  custom  at  one  time  to  give  the  boys  wine  with 
their  buns,  without  any  alternative  of  a less  fiery  nature ; 
and  this  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  a complaint 
made  by  the  Court  of  Aldermen  in  1693  “°f  great  rudeness 
and  disorders  lately  committed  by  the  boys  of  Christ’s  and 
Bridewell  Hospitals  at  Church  time  in  Easter  last.”  Cer- 
tainly there  is  little  wine  drunk  by  them  on  the  Easter 
Tuesdays  of  modern  times,  and  there  is  no  more  attentive 
congregation  in  London  than  the  present  “Blues”  as  they 
listen  to  the  Spital  Bishop. 

Mention  must  be  made,  before  leaving  the  Spital  cere- 
monies, of  the  custom  of  singing  a specially  composed 
Easter  Psalm  or  Anthem,  the  libretto  by  a master  or  scholar, 
and  the  score  by  the  Song- School  Master.  It  must  be 
frankly  admitted  that  the  prudent  Governors  were  not 
without  ulterior  motives  in  this  display  of  poetic  and  musical 
generosity.  It  was  their  habit  to  print  the  words  and  the 
music,  and  to  use  the  reverse  side,  as  they  used  the  sermons, 
for  “ pressing  charity.”  The  earliest  reference  to  the  custom 
which  my  search  has  brought  to  light  is  in  the  year  1625,  but 
its  real  nature  can  best  be  gathered  from  a collection  of  these 
Psalms,  ranging,  though  not  continuously,  from  1681  to  1842, 
and  preserved  in  the  Museum.  The  first  necessity  was  to 
procure  the  words,  written  generally  in  six  verses,  two  for 
each  of  the  (then)  three  services.  These  were  ordered  from 
various  sources.  In  1676  the  laureate  was  “the  usher  of  the 
Q 


226  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Grammar  Schoole,”  and,  when  the  order  was  repeated  in  1678, 
the  Usher  was  further  told  “to  attend  William  Moses  Esq. 
a member  of  this  house  with  the  Psalme  for  his  approbation 
thereof  or  alteration  of  the  same  if  hee  see  cause.”  But  in 
1684  the  Court  saw  good  to  command  a joint  effort;  the 
Grammar  Master  (Mountfort)  and  the  Mathematical  Master 
(Pagett)  were  bidden  “to  joyne  together  in  composing  two 
Psalmes  that  may  constantly  in  turne  be  used  by  the 
children  on  Easter  Monday  Tuesday  and  Wednesday 
yearly.”  Alas ! the  partnership  produced  no  permanent 
result,  as  the  following  lines  which  they  perpetrated  will 
readily  imply : — 

“ In  price  of  what  they  wear  and  eat  though  many  us  excel, 

Yet  with  plain  coats  and  wholesome  meat  we  thrive  and  look  as 
well ; 

The  Bird  that  finest  feathers  wears  no  warmer  is  for  that, 

And  though  some  feed  on  wheaten  ears,  yet  others  are  as  fat.” 

So  thereafter  they  tried  Mountfort  by  himself ; but  he 
evidently  was  little  anxious  for  the  bays ; for,  having  been 
told  to  “prepare  the  Psalme”  for  1689,  he  seems  to  have 
passed  on  the  task  to  his  famous  pupil,  Joshua  Barnes,  whose 
initials  are  printed  at  the  bottom  of  the  page.  If  anything, 
the  result  is  worse  : — 

“ Low  on  the  Dunghill  and  the  Dust,  Naked  and  Poor  we  lay, 

Our  Clothing  Rags,  our  Food  a Crust,  our  Beauty  Filth  and  Clay ; 
May  length  of  Days,  and  Wealth,  and  Peace,  and  Virtue’s  brighter 
Crown, 

King  William  and  Queen  Mary  Grace,  as  they  Grace  England’s 
Throne ! ” 

But  the  Governors  were  clearly  pleased  with  this  experi- 
ment of  making  laureates  of  their  exhibitioners,  for  in  1692 
the  Treasurer  wrote  to  Samuel  Linwood  and  Richard 
Fletcher  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  “either  by  them- 
selves or  others  to  compose  a psalme  fit  for  the  children  to 
sing  before  the  Lord  Major  at  Easter.”  Hitherto  there  is  no 
mention  of  any  fee;  but  in  1697  Samuel  Cobb,  a precocious 
youth,  who  when  at  school  “composed  a booke  of  Poems 
and  dedicated  it  to  the  Treasurer  and  Governors,”  began 
his  long  series  of  Easter  ditties  by  submitting  one  to  the 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  227 


Treasurer  while  still  an  undergraduate,  which  was  at  once 
“given  to  Mr  Browne  the  Musick  Master  for  his  perusall 
in  order  to  compose  the  Musick.”  Copies  of  this  psalm  still 
exist,  and  a few  lines  will  enable  the  reader  to  console  him- 
self for  the  loss  of  most  of  its  successors  : — 

“ Gaze,  ransom’d  mortal,  and  admire  a love  stupendously  divine  ! 

These  unworn  paths  Imperial  Edward  trod,  the  Charles  immensely 
mild — 

Edward  a hoary  youth  in  virtue  old,  and  Charles  of  an  sethereal 
make 

Kept  dying  charity  awake,  consum’d  with  grief  and  vexed  with 
pining  cold.” 

On  leaving  Cambridge  Cobb  became  Usher  of  the 
Grammar  School,  and  decided  always  to  be  ready  with 
a “Psalme.”  In  1704  he  began  to  consider  the  possibility 
of  adding  in  this  way  to  his  scanty  income ; for,  having 
produced  the  usual  screed,  he  “ acquainted  the  Comee  he  hath 
for  seven  yeares  last  past  made  the  Easter  Psalme,  which 
is  to  him  an  extra  imployment.”  The  Committee,  seeing  his 
drift,  voted  him  “ two  guinneys  for  which  he  was  thankfull,” 
and  he  was  careful  to  make  this  a precedent  for  future  use ; 
so  much  so  that,  having  continuously  drawn  his  “ two 
guinneys”  till  1709,  he  was  met  by  a resolution,  of  which 
he  could  not  mistake  the  import,  “ that  for  the  future  noe 
more  Easter  Psalmes  shall  be  made  without  a particular 
order  first  had  of  this  Comee  ” ; so  “ S.  C.’s  ” monopoly  came 
to  an  end. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  these  Psalms,  in  their  printed 
form,  were  a “valuable  advertising  medium.”  Without  going 
so  far  as  to  urge  that  the  Hospital  was  “entirely  supported 
by  voluntary  contributions,”  the  appeals  printed  on  the  paper 
pleaded  that  “ the  certain  revenue  of  the  said  Hospital  is 
little  more  than  the  moiety  of  the  necessary  charges  thereof.” 
In  fact  the  Psalm-sheet  was  a perpetual  reminder  to  the 
citizens  to  “remember  the  poor.”  As  one  of  its  own  poets 
(1682)  also  had  said  : — 

“ 'Tis  God  finds  all  the  gums  and  spice,  and  men  find  but  the  smoke.” 
Let  them  at  any  rate  see  that  they  do  find  it. 


228  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


BURIALS 

More  frankly  commercial  even  than  this  “ pressing  of 
charity”  at  the  Spital  Sermons  was  the  custom,  long 
prevalent  but  happily  long  defunct,  of  sending  the  children 
to  funerals — for  a consideration.  Historically,  the  Governors 
had  some  excuse  for  regarding  the  bodies  of  the  dead  as 
a lawful  source  of  profit;  for  the  “Grey  Friars”  was  the 
favourite  burying-place  of  the  English  aristocracy,  who  were 
willing  to  pay  heavily  for  the  privilege  of  taking  their  last 
sleep  in  the  Franciscan  habit,  very  much  as  the  wealthy 
Florentine  affected  an  interment  at  San  Miniato.  From  all 
this  the  Friars  derived  no  small  advantage.  Their  successors, 
the  Governors  of  Christ’s  Hospital,  made  money  in  a different 
way.  At  the  present  time  it  is  the  poorer  classes,  but  then 
it  was  the  rich  citizens,  who  craved  a fine  funeral,  and  one 
way  to  secure  it  was  to  have  an  ample  procession  of  the 
“poore  Children”  of  Christ’s  Hospital.  As  early  as  1577 
a person  “was  graunted  to  have  a competent  number  of  the 
children  to  the  buriall  of  Mr  Shoulor  and  thereuppon  hath 
promised  xx8,”  and  by  the  time  that  Robert  Dow  made  his 
provision  for  the  Music  School  the  custom  had  become 
prevalent;  for  he  stipulated  in  1609  that,  “ upon  the  children 
attending  burials,  one  half  of  the  singing  scholars  shall  be 
left  behind,  at  the  discretion  of  the  master,  that  the  school 
be  not  empty,  unless  it  should  be  a special  or  double  funeral.” 

In  the  days  when  private  houses  were  small  the  first 
requisite  was  to  find  a place  for  the  mourners  to  assemble  in, 
and  the  School  Hall,  like  those  of  the  City  Companies, 
answered  the  purpose  admirably.  It  was  let  free  of  charge 
except  “ satisfaction  to  such  as  prepare  and  make  cleane  the 
Hall.”  For  the  rest,  it  is  impossible  to  discover  any  exact 
system  in  the  matter.  Thus  Mr.  John  Babington,  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Hospital,  was  buried  from  Salters’  Hall 
in  1652  (“to  have  all  ye  children  while  my  predecessor 
at  Christ  Church,  Mr.  Edmund  Shering,  who  had  no  organic 
connexion  with  the  Hospital  and  quarrelled  with  it  on  every 
possible  occasion,  was  “ buryed  from  the  Court  Room  ” (“  to 


THE  COUNTING  HOUSE  YARD 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  229 

have  48  children  ”).  What  has  been  already  said  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  system,  whose  general  plan  may  be  gathered 
from  the  following  letter.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  recog- 
nised form  of  invitation  : — 

‘SIR, — Your  Worship  as  a Governor  of  Christ's  Hospital  is 
desired  to  meet  at  the  great  Hall  of  the  said  Hospital,  on 
Tuesday , the  13th  of  September  instant,  by  two  of  the  Clock 
in  the  afternoon  precisely,  in  your  gown  and  with  a green 
Staff,  from  thence  to  accompany  the  Corps  of  THOMAS 
STRETCHLEY , gentleman,  to  the  Tabernacle  in  Christ 
Church , to  hear  a Sermon  : Pray,  Sir,  be  pleased  to  appear 
(his  executors  having  declared  that  by  his  will  he  is  a Bounti- 
ful Benefactor  to  the  Children  of  your  Hospital ). 

‘Your  humble  Servant, 

‘William  Parrey. 

‘September  10,  1681.’ 

This  means  to  say  that  the  Hospital,  in  consideration  of 
what  it  is  to  gain  from  the  will  of  the  “ corps,”  is  bound  to 
see  that  it  receives  a largely  attended  funeral.  Carry  the 
system  a little  further,  and  anyone  who  wants  such  a funeral 
may  secure  these  unfortunate  young  mutes  by  paying  or 
guaranteeing  such  and  such  a sum  of  money.  In  proof  of 
this  the  “Burials  Book”  remains  among  the  archives.  It 
cannot  have  been  the  only  one,  for  it  does  not  begin  till 
1622,  and  when  it  opens  the  custom  is  clearly  in  full  swing. 
The  body  of  the  page  is  filled  with  the  name  of  the  person 
to  be  buried  and  the  arrangements  for  the  service,  and  the 
margin  contains  the  figures  of  his  or  her  past  or  prospective 
gifts  to  the  Hospital,  there  being  a rough  proportion  between 
those  figures  and  the  number  of  children  provided  as 
mourners.  The  “special  or  double  funerals”  may  be  repre- 
sented by  that  of  Mr.  Stretchley,  whose  benefactions 
amounted  to  .£5,200.  “ The  Governra,”  says  the  Burials 

Book,  “ are  all  invited  to  attend  his  ffunerall  with  200  child- 
ren.” But  it  confesses  in  a footnote  that  “ of  all  the  Governrs, 
no.  300  invited,  appeared  but  90,  who  had  rings  of  8£  price 
a peice,”  and,  as  these  would  be  paid  for  out  of  the  estate, 
it  was  at  once  a blessing  for  the  legatees  and  a credit  to  the 


23o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


absent  Governors  that  no  more  “appeared.”  At  the  other 
end  of  the  scale  is  the  entry,  dated  1652,  to  the  effect  that 
“the  Lady  Ann  daughter  to  my  Lord  Sussex  is  to  be  buryed 
on  Fryday  instant  by  5 of  the  clock  in  ye  afternoone  from 
convent  garden.  40  guirles  to  attend.”  Her  ladyship  esti- 
mated their  services  to  her  “ corps  ” at  a shilling  a head,  and 
so  gave  the  Hospital  two  pounds  sterling.  A deceased 
lady,  for  whom  insult  is  piled  on  injury  by  her  being  in- 
scribed as  “ Mad  Agnieta  Vandermarsh,  an  antient  maide,” 
has  the  services  of  one  hundred  children  at  the  Dutch 
Church.  The  funerals,  which  they  thus  graced  with  their 
presence,  were  by  no  means  confined  to  the  City  and  neigh- 
bourhood. A certain  Dame  Martha,  with  an  illegible  sur- 
name, who  was  going  to  be  interred  at  Bletchingley,  had 
“ 300  boys  and  60  girles  to  attend  the  funerall  to  the  end 
of  the  stones  in  Blackman  Street,  Bow.”  When  the  body 
of  Mr.  Serjeant  Moses,  the  great  patron  of  Cambridge 
Exhibitioners,  was  laid  to  rest  in  1688  at  Pembroke  Hall, 
all  the  children  accompanied  the  procession  to  “ White 
Chapell  Bars.”  But  there  are  also  instances  in  which  these 
hungry  young  hirelings  had  to  go  as  far  as  Hampstead  and 
Greenwich,  and  their  comfort  was  not  often  considered  either 
in  the  will  or  by  the  beneficiaries.  True,  Mr.  John  Babing- 
ton,  already  mentioned,  left  ^100  “to  buy  Roast-meat  of 
£2  yearly  for  the  children  above  their  ordinary  dyett,”  and 
there  were  cases  in  which  it  was  arranged  for  the  boys  to 
have  “ I2d  apeece”  or  a pair  of  gloves,  or  a knife ; but  there 
was  a successful  raid  on  the  gloves  by  the  nurses  of  the 
wards,  and  as  late  as  1686  the  Committee  agreed,  in  regard 
to  any  money  given  to  the  children,  to  maintain  “ the 
custome  for  the  nurses  to  have  halfe  (if  divideable).”  It 
may  be  fairly  assumed  that  the  nurses  would  make  sure  of 
the  divideableness  of  anything  under  the  circumstances. 

The  question  remains  whether  there  was  any  advantage 
to  the  children  to  atone  for  long  and  dreary  tramps  as  part 
of  long  and  dreary  processions  to  do  honour  to  people  whose 
very  names  were  often  unknown  to  them.  This  can  only 
be  answered  by  an  examination  of  the  Burials  Book,  which 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  231 


will  show  that  the  children  were  employed  at  one  thousand 
funerals  between  1622  and  1648,  and  at  about  five  hundred 
and  fifty  between  1649  and  1754,  when  the  practice  came 
to  an  unlamented  end.  Thus,  business  in  this  line  was 
most  brisk  in  the  years  when  Puritanism  was  gathering  its 
strength,  which  is  scarcely  eloquent  of  the  simplicity  of  that 
movement.  A rough  calculation  of  the  benefactions  which 
led  to  or  were  likely  to  flow  from  the  presence  of  the  “ Blue  ” 
children  at  these  fifteen  hundred  and  fifty  ceremonies  shows 
the  profit  to  the  Hospital  to  have  been  about  £75,000,  while 
of  the  sums  contributed  by  corpses  before  1622  no  account 
remains.  It  was  a happy  day  when  it  became  impossible  for 
the  Clerk,  in  estimating  the  probable  receipts  for  the  current 
year,  to  suggest,  as  Reeve  did  in  1690,  that  the  deficit  might 
be  made  up  “by  Legacyes,  fines  upon  leases,  Benevolences, 
Buryalls  and  other  Casualties'' 

“ HALLY-BLAGS.” 

Before  leaving  the  various  religious  customs  of  the  Hospital 
a word  may  be  said  as  to  one  or  two  others.  Any  “ Blue  ” 
of  twenty  years  back  and  upwards  will  suggest  “ Hally- 
blags”  as  worth  a word  or  two.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
the  word  is  a scholastic  abbreviation  of  “ All  Hallows 
Blackguards,”  but  their  career  was  not  as  bad  as  their  name 
implies.  Their  origin  is  to  be  found  in  the  will  of  Peter 
Symondes,  citizen  and  Mercer  of  London,  dated  the  4th  of 
April,  1586.  He  left  a sum  of  money  in  order  that  on  each 
Good  Friday  the  children  of  Christ’s  Hospital  should  attend 
“ the  church  of  All  Saints  in  Lumber  Street,”  or  sixty  of 
them  at  least.  They  were  to  receive  at  the  close  of  the 
service  a penny  apiece  and  a bag  of  raisins,  the  latter  to 
cost  by  the  testator’s  direction  three  shillings  and  fourpence. 
Trollope  is  responsible  for  a statement  that  they  were  chosen 
in  his  time  “ for  good  behaviour.”  In  later  times  it  was 
the  more  cautious  custom  to  avoid  such  invidious  distinc- 
tions and  to  choose  the  smallest  boys  in  the  school,  and 
there  were  few  of  them  who  would  not  have  avoided  the 


232  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


title  of  “ Hally-blag  ” in  a trice  if  other  than  “ good  behaviour  ” 
would  have  set  them  free.  Here  at  least  is  a case  in  which 
some  good  has  come  of  recent  legislation,  for  the  small  boys 
ceased  to  eat  raisins  on  Good  Friday  after  the  passing  of 
the  City  Parochial  Charities  Act.  It  is  only  fair  to  Peter 
Symondes  to  add  that  he  saw  the  oddness  of  his  bequest. 

“ Although,”  says  his  will,  “ this  gift  may  be  thought  very 
frivolous,  yet  my  mind  and  meaning  being  hidden  may 
notwithstanding  be  performed.” 

THE  PUBLIC  SUPPERS 

The  public  is  more  familiar  with  the  Lenten  Suppers  than 
with  any  other  Christ’s  Hospital  function,  though  they  have 
now  passed  into  history.  Their  origin  and  their  purpose  are 
both  mysterious,  and  for  years  past  they  have  been  little  but 
a most  unnecessary  and,  for  the  boys,  a not  very  comfortable 
show,  nor  is  it  certain  that  they  have  ever  been  anything  else. 
But  the  ceremony  has  been  so  often  described  in  the  news- 
papers by  the  guileless  reporter  that  it  may  be  well  to  give 
such  information  on  the  subject  as  the  Minute  Books  pro- 
vide. On  the  whole  it  seems  that  it  was  the  British  Public 
which  decided  that  Public  Suppers  should  exist,  as  part  of 
its  pattern  et  circenses.  Thus  in  1684,  shortly  after  Sir 
John  Frederick’s  Hall  was  built,  the  Committee  was  \ 
desired  “to  think  of  a way  how  to  prevent  the  Rabble  of 
people  coming  into  the  great  hall  on  Sunday  nights  to  see 
the  children  at  Supper,  which  causes  great  disturbance  and 
interruption  in  that  affaire.”  Then  they  arranged  that  a 
beadle  should  “ keep  the  key  of  the  door  that  leads  up  into 
the  Hall  out  of  the  Cloysters,  and  that  the  doore  that  leads 
up  the  great  staires  shall  be  kept  constantly  locked  up  while 
the  children  are  at  Catechize  and  Supper,”  with  the  signifi- 
cant addition  that  “ none  but  governors  or  other  persons  of 
quallity”  (who,  of  course,  might  take  it  into  their  heads  to 
become  Governors)  should  be  admitted.  Two  years  later 
things  were  as  bad  as  ever.  The  question  again  arose  “ how 
to  suppress  the  great  concourse  of  people  that  come  on 
Sunday  nights  into  the  great  hall,”  and,  this  having  been 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  233 

discussed  in  vain,  “at  the  same  time  every  person  present 
was  desired  to  think  of  a way  or  method  to  prevent  the 
same  (if  possible)  for  future.”  There  is  no  record  of  the 
results  of  this  united  deliberation,  nor  any  reference  to  the 
Public  Suppers  at  all  for  some  seventeen  years;  and  then 
it  appears  that  things  had  not  improved.  In  October  1703 
(the  month  showing  that  the  admission  of  visitors  on  Sunday 
nights  was  not  confined  to  Lent)  the  porters  and  beadles 
“were  reproved  for  letting  in  such  crowds  of  people  and 
more  particularly  such  rabble  as  they  doe  usually  [let]  up 
into  the  Hall  on  Sunday  nights  and  for  extorting  money  of 
persons  to  admitt  them  in  ” ; they  were  enjoined  to  let  in 
“onely  people  of  fashion  and  not  to  ask  them  for  money.” 
At  last,  when  the  disorder  could  go  no  further,  the  Com- 
mittee in  1709  hit  upon  the  plan  of  setting  open  “the  doors 
in  the  Cloysters  goeing  up  in  to  the  great  Hall,”  as  “ an 
experiment  whether  the  Hall  will  be  crowded  more  with 
people  when  the  doors  stand  open  than  it  is  when  they  are 
shut  and  attended  by  Beadles.” 

These  extracts  will  serve  to  explain  the  genesis  of  these 
quaint  and  picturesque  ceremonies,  which  were  ultimately  con- 
fined to  four  Thursday  evenings  in  Lent.  Two  hundred  years 
ago  there  was  nothing  for  the  restless  Londoner  to  do  on 
Sunday  evenings  except  sit  sedately  in  his  house.  To  interest 
the  wealthier  citizens  in  the  charitable  work  of  the  Hospital, 
it  was  understood  that  they  were  free  to  visit  the  Hall  during 
supper  on  Sunday  evenings.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to 
distinguish  between  the  potential  benefactor  and  the  more 
unpromising  and  merely  curious  “ gazer  ” ; for  the  Hospital 
was  practically  a public  thoroughfare  and,  whereas  to-day 
the  undesirable  visitor  is  stopped  at  the  Lodge,  the  Governors 
of  1700  and  thereabouts  could  only  hope  to  stop  him  at  the 
Hall  Door.  The  matter  was  further  complicated  by  the 
commercial  proclivities  of  the  Beadles.  The  Christ  Church 
Lodge  was  practically  a tap-room,  and  these  visitors  meant 
good  business,  especially  as  it  was  their  appetising  privilege  to 
see  others  eat.  If  there  were  few  benefactors  in  the  rabble, 
there  were  plenty  who  were  equal  to  a small  tip. 


234  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


During  the  last  century  the  custom  became  more  attenuated, 
though  Trollope  is  responsible  for  the  statement  that,  having 
originally  lasted  “from  the  Sunday  after  Christmas  until 
Easter  Day,  both  inclusive,”  and  then  changed  to  the  months 
of  March,  April,  and  May,  they  were  in  his  time  started  on 
the  first  Sunday  in  February  and  continued  till  Easter. 
But  an  ingenuous  footnote  of  Trollope’s  (p.  no)  shows 
that  there  were  already  complaints  of  their  “ irreligious 
tendency,”  as  “ encouraging,  in  a certain  degree,  a profana- 
tion of  the  sabbath.”  He  would  have  liked  to  exclude  all 
who  were  not  able  to  give  pecuniary  expression  to  their 
feelings,  and  hoped  “ that  the  ceremony,  which  partakes  of 
a devotional  character,  may  have  the  effect  of  warming  the 
hearts  of  every  well-disposed  Christian  with  the  spirit  of 
charity  and  benevolence.” 

The  latter  consummation  has  rarely  characterised  the 
Public  Suppers  of  these  recent  years,  though  they  have 
always  “ partaken  of  a devotional  character.”  But  they  have 
been  treated  frankly  as  a ceremony,  not  the  less  acceptable 
because  there  is  no  charge  for  admission.  From  the  entrance 
of  the  Treasurer’s  procession,  headed  by  the  Beadle  whose 
mace  and  (as  far  as  pattern  goes)  whose  robe  are  two  centuries 
old,  to  the  prayers  which  were  written  by  Compton,  one 
of  the  Seven  Bishops,  and  on  to  the  “ bowing-round  ” of  six 
hundred  boys  in  the  dress  of  the  Tudors, — everything 
flattered  the  universal  instinct  for  the  antique ; and  the  Hall 
in  which  the  “ show  ” was  enacted  fostered  the  delusion. 

ST.  MATTHEW’S  DAY 

The  religious  foundation  has  yet  another  ceremony  “ par- 
taking of  a devotional  character,”  and  that  is  its  Speech  Day, 
which  till  some  forty  years  ago  coincided  with  the  Feast 
of  St.  Matthew.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
the  connexion  of  the  Plospital  with  this  day  is  as  old  as 
the  first  efforts  to  found  the  School.  The  first  meetings 
of  the  original  Governors  were  held  (says  Howes)  at  the 
Guildhall;  but  as  soon  as  possible  they  “agreed  together 


SPEECHES  ON  ST.  MATTHEW’S  DAY 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  235 


to  mete  all  in  the  Compting  house  made  for  the  Governors 
in  Chrystes  Hospitall  on  the  vith  daie  of  October  I552-” 
At  that  period  all  Saints’  days  were  business-holidays  and 
therefore  gave  leisure  for  philanthropic  work,  and  it  is  not 
much  to  assume  that  there  had  been  such  a meeting  on 
the  2 1 st  of  September  at  the  Guildhall,  and  even  that  this 
was  the  day  on  which  they  fixed  their  first  sitting  in  the 
“ Compting  house.”  Five  years  later  there  was  issued  the 
famous  “ Order  of  the  Hospitalls,”  which  probably  did  no 
more  than  authorise  established  usages,  and  in  this  Septem- 
ber 2 1st  appears  as  an  important  administrative  fixture. 
“Yearly,”  it  says,  “upon  the  day  of  Saint  Matthew  Th’ 
Apostle,  at  a general  court  to  be  houlden  in  Christe  Hospitall 
or  els  in  some  other  convenient  place,  by  the  said  governours, 
or  the  most  part  of  them,  shal  be  elected  and  chosen  new 
Governours  to  govern  the  said  hospitalls  for  ij  years.”  The 
lists  of  those  then  chosen  to  be  Governors  in  each  of  the 
Royal  Hospitals  were  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  by  him  entrusted  to  safe  keeping  at  the  Guildhall 
— a ceremony  still  associated  with  St.  Matthew’s  Day.  One 
other  matter  of  administration  formerly  took  place  at  the 
same  time.  At  the  foundation  of  these  Hospitals  it  was 
arranged  that  their  beadles  besides  guarding  their  several 
premises  should  act  as  “ street-men  ” with  special  attention 
to  beggars  and  vagrants.  They  were  to  patrol  the  wards 
of  the  City  and  convey  to  Bridewell  all  “idle  persons.”  If 
the  “ idle  person  ” was  too  much  for  the  beadle,  he  was  at 
liberty  to  “call  for  aid  to  euery  constable  next  adjoyning,” 
and,  if  the  aid  were  not  promptly  given,  he  could  report 
the  policeman  to  the  Lord  Mayor ; if  the  Lord  Mayor  took 
no  action,  the  beadle  could  report  his  lordship  to  the  Court  of 
Aldermen.  The  “Order”  (a.d.  1557)  goes  on  to  say  that 
the  beadle  must  be  particularly  lively  in  his  search  for  rogues 
and  idlers  “at  Pawl’s  Cross,  at  the  sermon  time,”  and  at 
the  funerals  of  his  neighbours ; but,  as  this  latter  service 
was  generally  met  by  “ a benevolence  ” from  the  family,  “ you 
shall  not  intrude  yourselves  to  none  other  burials  out  of  your 
wards  or  walkes.”  St.  Matthew’s  Feast  was  the  day  of 


236  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


reckoning  for  all  these  beadle-streetmen.  The  “Order” 
enacts  that,  when  the  election  of  Governors  is  finished,  “ then 
shall  be  called  in  before  the  saide  courte  all  the  bedells,  who 
shall  deliver  up  their  staves  and  depart  the  howse,  that  the 
opinion  of  the  Court  may  be  hade  touchinge  the  doing  of 
their  duties,  to  the  intent,  yf  any  of  them  be  faultye,  that 
he  or  they  may  be  rebuked  or  dismissed  at  the  discretion 
of  the  said  court,  and  thereupon  to  deliver  up  to  suche 
as  then  remaync  their  staves,  and  again  establishe  them.” 
The  Minutes  give  ample  evidence  that  this  enactment  was 
observed,  and  the  entry  of  1687  is  interesting  as  showing  that 
“the  City  Marshall  was  called  in  to  know  whether  the  said 
beadles  had  done  their  dutyes  . . . who  answered  they  had 
done  very  well.”  Whereupon  the  street-men  were  com- 
plimented and  had  the  badge  of  their  office  returned  to  them. 
The  entry  under  the  date  of  April  3rd,  1696,  explains  why 
judgment  was  committed  to  this  imposing  functionary, 
whose  duty  it  now  is  to  prance  at  the  head  of  civic  pro- 
cessions. “John  Seaton”  is  there  decided  to  be  “the  fittest 
person  to  be  the  walking  beadle  for  assisting  the  City 
Marshall  to  cleere  the  Streets  of  Beggars.” 

The  point  is  not  quite  clear,  but  it  is  probable  that  this 
inquest  into  the  doings  of  the  “ walking-beadles  ” took  place 
after  Divine  Service,  and,  the  further  back  we  get,  the  more 
probable  is  it  that  the  custom  of  the  religious  observance  of 
the  feast  was  maintained.  In  any  case,  it  became  an  obliga- 
tion for  the  Governors  (that  is,  the  Mayor  and  Corporation) 
to  attend  service  at  Christ  Church  as  early  as  1619,  by  virtue 
of  an  indenture  of  Mr.  John  Bancks,  citizen  and  Mercer, 
who  was  also  Assistant  Treasurer  of  the  Hospital.  He  gave 
property  charged  with  a fee  for  the  “divine,”  on  condition 
that  the  Governors  should  “ go  to  the  said  sermon  in  a grave 
manner,”  and  that  the  sermon  should  be  over  by  ten  o’clock 
in  the  morning  ; and  it  must  be  confessed  that,  though  there 
has  been  no  alteration  for  the  worse  in  the  gravity  of  the 
Governors,  modern  habits  have  long  revolted  at  a service 
in  the  City  which  must  be  over  at  an  hour  when  the  worthy 
benefactors  are  just  catching  their  train  to  town,  or  at  any 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  237 


rate  opening  their  letters.  The  great  matter  is  that  the 
attendance  of  the  Civic  magnates  is  a custom  of  consider- 
able antiquity,  and  that  the  service  was  timed  to  immediately 
precede  the  election  of  Governors.  Indeed,  they  found  the 
religious  side  of  their  work  forcibly  emphasised  in  the 
“charge”  which  forms  part  of  the  “Order  of  the  Hospitalls” 
already  referred  to.  “Your  charge  shall  be,”  it  tells  them, 
“that  every  of  you  endevour  yourselves  with  all  your  wis- 
domes  and  powers  faithfullie  and  diligently  to  serve  in  this 
vocation  and  calling ; which  is  an  office  of  high  trust  and 
worship ; for  ye  are  called  to  be  the  faithful  and  true  dis- 
tributors and  disposers  of  the  goods  of  Almightie  God  to 
his  poore  and  needy  members.”  It  was  the  business  of  the 
“ divine  ” who  preached  to  urge  this  upon  them.  The  records 
have  very  few  references  to  the  names  of  the  preachers. 
“ Mr  Shereing  Minister  of  Christs  Church,”  and  not  an  “Old 
Blue,”  preached  in  1685,  “ Mr  Tho : Cooke,”  for  many  years 
classical  examiner,  in  1705,  and  in  1669,  when  the  “ custome 
had  been  discontinued  since  the  sicknesse  time,”  and  Christ 
Church  had  perhaps  not  got  its  “ tabernacle  ” complete,  it 
was  suggested  to  the  Lord  Mayor  “ that  if  his  lordpp  thinke 
fitt,  the  sermone  may  bee  in  Great  Saint  Bartholomews 
Church  neere  West  Smithfield.”  For  many  years  past  it  has 
been  the  general  but  not  invariable  custom  to  invite  as 
preacher  “ one  of  the  late  scholars  of  the  house,  who  has 
passed  through  the  university  upon  one  of  its  exhibitions” 
(Trollope).  But  one  exception,  nearly  half  a century  old, 
will  occur  to  many.  Dr.  Jacob,  the  Upper  Grammar  Master, 
though  not  a “Blue,”  was  nominated  by  the  Governors  as 
St.  Matthew’s  Day  preacher  in  1854,  and  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  rate  the  Governors  in  set  terms  and  to  bid  them 
put  their  house  in  order.  It  was  an  extreme  act,  though  not 
without  its  justification.  But,  however  much  Dr.  Jacob  was 
valued  by  his  pupils,  his  sermon  left  a bad  taste  in  the  palates 
of  the  Almoners,  and  in  1868,  before  his  work  was  anything 
like  complete,  though  not  before  his  health  seemed  shattered, 
Dr.  Jacob  retired  on  an  ample  pension.  He  was  avenged  of 
his  adversaries  by  drawing  the  pension  for  thirty  years. 


23S  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Our  description  of  St.  Matthew’s  Day  has  now  dealt  with 
the  trial  of  the  beadles  and  the  hearing  of  the  sermon  ; but 
the  trial  of  the  “ children  ” was  also  part  of  the  day’s  duties. 
Two  hundred  years  ago,  September  21st,  or  some  day 
between  that  and  Bartholomew-tide,  was  the  regular  time 
for  the  half-yearly  examination.  Therefore  it  was  the 
custom  to  adjourn  from  the  church  either  to  the  old 
Grammar  School  or  to  the  Great  Hall,  and  the  “ Memord  ” 
of  1685  will  serve  to  describe  what  took  place  up  to  within 
very  recent  times : “ two  boys  made  orations  one  Latine  and 
the  other  English  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  said  Governours.” 
These  two  represented  the  creme  of  Christ’s  Hospital  scholar- 
ship, and  were  carefully  prepared,  as  their  modern  representa- 
tives still  are,  for  their  trying  ordeal.  But  the  whole  school 
on  the  2 1st  of  September  had  that  happy  feeling  which 
arises  in  the  boy-mind  at  the  close  of  the  “ exams,”  and  it  is 
to  the  credit  of  the  Governors  that  twice  each  year,  shortly 
before  Easter  and  St.  Matthew’s  Day,  they  had  the  results 
of  the  half-year’s  work  overhauled. 

The  earliest  reference  to  such  an  event  occurs  in  the 
minutes  of  a Court  held  in  February  1583.  “This  corte 
hath  accorded,”  it  says,  “that  the  Gramer  Schole  shalbe 
examined  on  Wednesdaie  the  xxv  of  this  monthe  which 
wilbe  the  daie  next  after  St.  Matais  [Matthias]  daie  . . . 
and  that  there  shalbe  a competent  dyvine  prepared  for  the 
examinacon.”  At  the  same  time  they  decided  to  ask  for 
the  services  in  this  connexion  of“Mr  Nowell,”  Dean  of  St. 
Paul’s,  and  two  others.  All  that  has  altered  since  then  is 
the  date  of  the  ordeal,  which  in  1676  they  fixed  for  “the 
week  before  or  after  Bartholomew  day  yearly.” 

Year  after  year  from  this  time  onwards  the  books  contain 
a copy  of  each  examiner’s  report.  Those  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Cooke  in  regard  to  the  Grammar  School  have 
already  been  referred  to,  and  there  were  also  two  mathe- 
matical examiners  (among  whom  occurs  the  fragrant  name 
of  de  Moivre),  one  for  the  Royal  and  the  other  for  the 
« New”  Foundation.  It  is  probable  that  the  worthy  citizens 
on  the  governing  body  frustrated  their  own  intentions  by 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  239 

not  changing  their  examiners  with  greater  frequency.  The 
office  seems  to  have  carried  a vested  interest,  and  Cooke 
went  on  examining  in  the  same  subjects  and  giving  reports 
in  much  the  same  words  for  nearly  twenty  years.  But  the 
rest  of  the  curriculum  (the  writing,  the  reading,  and  the 
music)  was  tested  by  the  Governors  themselves,  and  it  was 
always  put  on  record  that  they  satisfied  themselves  by  their 
personal  observation  that  good  progress  was  being  made,  or 
that  “ the  Singing  Master  gave  a touch  of  his  performance 
by  causing  the  boys  in  his  school  to  sing  a verse  of  the 
Easter  Anthem.” 

Of  the  matter  of  the  two  Speeches  nothing  is  ever  said, 
but  it  can  be  readily  imagined.  There  would  be  praises  of 
the  Royal  Founder,  and  gratitude  to  the  worthy  citizens  who 
provided  the  means  to  do  the  work  of  the  Foundation.  The 
latter,  as  referring  to  “present  company,”  may  not  always 
have  been  in  the  best  taste.  Indeed,  an  oration  of  Thomas 
Kirke,  given  not  on  Speech  Day  but  on  some  special  occasion 
in  June  1664  at  which  Sir  John  Frederick,  who  built  the  old 
Hall,  presided,  may  serve  as  a specimen.  “ How  shall  we 
then,  Dear  Sir,”  this  youngster  asks,  “ be  able  to  stifle  our 
joy,  and  bridle  in  our  affections,  who  have  the  happiness  this 
day,  in  this  place,  to  see  the  faces,  not  of  imperious  and 
exacting  Masters,  but  of  our  worthy  Patrons,  and  to  enjoy 
especially  the  Presence  of  so  Pious  a Father,  and  so  noble 
a President  ? ” And  he  works  himself  up  to  a conclusion 
which  may  well  have  appalled  the  object  of  his  attention  : 
“ In  a word,  Right  Worshipfful,  long  may  you  live  in  peace 
and  safety : and  when  you  dy,  you  shall  swim  to  your  grave 
in  the  Tears  of  Orphans,  and  on  your  Tombe  shall  they 
ingrave  this  Motto — 

Here  lies  the  Orphans’  Father,  most  discreet, 

Rare  Fruit,  made  ripe  for  Heav’n,  for  Earth  too  sweet.” 

Happily  Sir  John  postponed  so  terrible  an  ordeal  for 
twenty  years.  Since  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Christ’s  Plospital  has  come  into  line  with  other  schools  and 
held  its  Speech  Day  at  the  close  of  the  summer  term,  and  the 


24o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


English  Speech  is  the  only  relic  in  the  present  programme 
of  these  seventeenth-century  effusions.  It  is  now  a chaste 
record  of  the  year’s  events  and  does  not  promise  the  pre- 
siding Lord  Mayor  a swim  in  other  folks’  tears.  One  other 
relic  of  St.  Matthew’s  Day  has  passed  to  Speech  Day  in  the 
custom  of  handing  round  “ the  glove  ” for  the  contributions 
of  visitors  towards  the  University  expenses  of  the  Ex- 
hibitioners just  leaving  the  school.  It  may  be  conjectured 
that  the  collection  was  originally  made  at  the  St.  Matthew’s 
Day  service  in  Christ  Church,  where  it  would  have  seemed 
less  out  of  place.  The  ceremonies  of  the  21st  of  September 
still  conclude,  as  they  have  done  for  over  two  centuries,  with 
“the  collatiop  of  wine  and  cakes.”  Trollope  gives  as  his 
authority  for  this  custom  the  journals  of  a Sheriff  of  1740. 
He  might  have  found  better  evidence  in  the  books  of  the 
Hospital  as  early  as  1687,  with  the  added  details  that  the 
cakes  were  “ sweet  ” and  the  wine  “ burnt.” 

THE  PUBLIC  LOTTERIES 

It  would  not  be  right  to  omit  a notice  of  one  “little 
system  ” which  had  its  day,  and,  none  too  soon,  ceased  to 
be  ; I mean  the  practice  of  allowing  the  “ Blues  ” to  assist  in 
drawing  the  tickets  of  the  public  lotteries.  Their  history 
need  not  be  detailed  here,  for  it  has  been  written  as  the  result 
of  diligent  research  by  Mr.  John  Ashton  (1893)  from  the  year 
1569  to  the  present  time.  It  appears  that  the  unfortunate 
habit  of  telling  off  a dozen  of  the  boys  for  this  purpose  began 
about  1694  ; at  any  rate  in  that  year  Pagett,  the  Mathematical 
Master  whose  delinquencies  are  described  elsewhere,  put  in 
a sensible  petition  “ that  none  of  the  boyes  in  the  Mathe- 
matical! Schoole  should  be  imployed  in  drawing  the  Million 
Lottery  [5  Will,  and  Mary  c.  7],  Mr.  Pagett  alleadging  that 
it  will  be  a great  hindrance  to  them  in  their  learning,  and 
cause  a great  disorder  in  the  Government  of  his  Schoole.” 
But  at  that  time  the  Court  did  no  more  than  say  that  the 
selection  of  the  boys  for  this  purpose  was  in  the  hands  of  a 
Governor,  and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  the  “ Mathemats’  ” con- 
nexion with  the  Lotteries  was  continuous  and  not  always 


DRAWING  THE  LOTTERIES  IN  COOPERS’  HALL 


OF  RITES  AND  CEREMONIES  241 


creditable.  After  this  date  the  records  contain  frequent 
reference  to  the  distribution  of  the  sums  paid  to  the  boys 
for  their  participation  in  this  system  of  raising  public  funds. 
Thus  in  1712  a “ Mathemat,”  who  in  spite  of  Pagett’s  protest 
had  been  allowed  to  take  his  turn  at  the  wheel  and  was  “ now 
going  to  sea,”  was  “ paid  the  sume  of  three  pounds  nineteen 
shillings  and  sixpence,  his  proporcon  of  the  Moneys  received 
in  drawing  the  Lotterys  in  the  year  1711.”  This  extract 
shows  that  the  Governors  minimised  the  evils  of  the  system 
by  retaining  the  money  till  the  boys  were  starting  in  life. 
They  had  plenty  of  funds  for  apprenticeship  purposes  ; so 
they  either  handed  a boy’s  share  to  his  master,  “ he  giving 
his  bond  to  secure  the  same  for  the  benefitt  of  the  Boy,”  or  it 
was  arranged  that  the  share  “ be  reserved  for  [the  boy]  in  this 
House  untill  he  shall  have  served  out  his  apprenticeship,  the 
better  to  enable  him  to  follow  his  Trade”;  as  in  the  case  of 
“ a young  man  formerly  of  this  Hospital  that  Drawed  one 
of  the  Publick  Lotterys  ” and  who  received  his  share  in  1721 
“haveing  Faithfully  served  his  seven  yeares  apprenticeship  to 
a Boxmaker.”  Sometimes  the  “ Blues  ” came  in  for  larger 
benefits  at  the  hands  of  persons  for  whom  they  drew  prizes. 
In  1719  “Mary  I vers  Spinster”  presented  herself  to  the 
Committee  as  being,  the  sister  of  a boy,  since  deceased,  who 
had  been  “ Intituled  to  a Lottery  Tickett  of  Ten  Pounds  the 
gift  of  a Person  for  whom  he  Drew  a Benefitt  Tickett  ” 
[worth  £10,000].  She  therefore  asked  that  as  “next  kin” 
she  “might  have  the  same  with  the  interest  due  thereon” 
since  1714.  The  interest  was  paid  her,  but  the  Committee 
reserved  the  question  of  the  principal,  and  its  fate  is  not 
recorded. 

Mr.  Ashton  (p.  81)  gives  particulars  of  an  incident  which 
by  itself  might  have  been  sufficient  to  put  an  end  to  the 
custom  as  far  as  the  “ Blues  ” were  concerned.  On  December 
5th,  1775,  a man  appeared  before  the  Guildhall  bench  to 
answer  a charge  of  tampering  with  a lottery.  He  was 
shown  to  have  insured  a certain  ticket  seventy-nine  times 
for  one  day.  The  witnesses  included  the  “ Blue,”  whom 
this  enterprising  person,  by  means  of  “ several  half-guineas  ” 

R 


242  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


and  a breakfast  at  a coffee-house,  had  induced  to  secrete 
ticket  No.  21,481  and  make  sure  of  its  issuing  from  the 
wheel  at  the  psychological  moment.  Prompt  action  was 
taken  in  this  matter  on  all  sides.  A rough-and-ready  justice 
discharged  the  prisoner.  The  Committee  met  at  the  Hospital 
next  day  (December  6th,  1775)  and  in  a more  serious  sense 
discharged  the  boy,  expelling  him  there  and  then  for  tamper- 
ing with  the  tickets — and  he  was  a “ Mathemat.” 

Yet  even  this  undesirable  incident  did  not  make  an  end  of 
the  employment  of  the  boys  at  the  wheel,  for  on  December 
12th,  1775,  the  Treasury  issued  an  order  to  prevent  “like 
wicked  practices  in  future,”  which  gave  directions  that, 
before  any  boy  was  allowed  to  put  his  hand  into  either 
wheel,  the  managers  on  duty  were  to  see  that  “ the  bosoms 
and  sleeves  of  his  coat  be  closely  buttoned,  his  pockets 
sewed  up,  and  his  hands  examined,”  and  that  while  on  duty 
“he  shall  keep  his  left  hand  in  his  girdle  behind  him,  and  his 
right  hand  open  with  his  fingers  extended.”*  At  the  same 
time  the  Treasurer  was  asked  not  to  reveal  the  names  of  the 
twelve  boys  chosen  for  this  office  till  the  morning  when 
the  drawing  began.  All  twelve  were  to  go  each  day,  and  the 
Secretaries  were  to  choose  two  promiscuously  from  among 
them.  With  these  precautions  the  boys  continued  their  work 
on  into  the  nineteenth  century.  A “ Blue  ” appears  on  the 
advertisement  of  the  State  lottery  of  1809,  and  it  may  be 
presumed  that  it  was  still  so  when  the  whole  system  came  to 
an  end  in  1826. 

It  may  or  may  not  be  that  Christ’s  Hospital  has  a richer 
store  of  quaint  ceremonies  than  other  public  schools ; but  it 
has  had  the  advantage  till  now  of  being  placed  where  such 
ceremonies  can  be  viewed  by  the  outside  world.  How  long 
many  of  them  will  survive  transplanting  to  Horsham  “ lies 
on  the  knees  of  the  gods.” 


The  prescribed  attitude  can  be  seen  in  the  illustration. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 

“Boy  ! the  school  is  your  father  ! Boy  ! the  school  is  your  mother  ! Boy  ! 
the  school  is  your  brother  ! The  school  is  your  sister  ! The  school  is  your  first- 
cousin,  and  your  second-cousin,  and  all  the  rest  of  your  relations  ! Let’s  have  no 
more  crying  ! ” — Boyer  to  Coleridge. 

IT  is  probable  that  there  are  few  schools  where  the  life 
of  the  community  in  the  Class  Room  is  as  distinct  from 
life  out  of  school  as  up  to  this  present  it  has  been  at  Christ’s 
Hospital.  At  the  moment  of  writing  there  is  a large  staff 
of  masters,  whose  sole  duty,  with  one  or  two  special  ex- 
ceptions, is  to  be  in  their  rooms  and  give  certain  lessons 
for  some  six -and -twenty  hours  a week.  When  the  bell 
rings,  they  are  not  only  free  men,  but,  the  sooner  they  are 
off  the  premises,  the  higher  does  their  reputation  stand. 
As  this  state  of  things,  which  is  as  luxurious  for  the  masters 
as  it  has  been  prejudicial  to  the  boys,  will  come  to  an  end 
when  the  school  leaves  Newgate  Street,  it  may  be  well  to  go 
back  and  inquire  how  it  arose. 

Christ’s  Hospital,  it  has  already  been  said  more  than  once, 
began  its  career  as  a house  of  refuge  for  the  young.  Its  first 
staff  suggests  the  workhouse  rather  than  the  university. 
The  “ Chirurgione,”  the  “ Barbor,”  the  “ Buttler,”  the  “ Under- 
buttler,”  the  “Porters,”  the  “Bruer,”  the  Matron  and  the 
“ xxv  Systers,”  leave  us  in  no  doubt  that,  however  much 
the  general  discipline  might  benefit  from  the  strictness  of 
masters  in  school,  there  was  plenty  of  work  for  a large 
staff  to  do  when  school  was  over.  Of  these  various  original 
offices  two  at  least  have  survived  through  all  the  three 
centuries  and  a half,  as  very  distinct  features  of  Christ’s 


243 


244  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Hospital  life, — namely  the  “ Porter  ” and  the  “ Syster.”  The 
Porter  now  calls  himself  “ Beadle,”  and  the  “ Systers  ” have 
passed  through  an  evolution  and  been  improved  from  "nurses” 
into  “matrons.”  All  this  while  the  order  and  discipline  of 
the  children,  when  not  in  charge  of  the  masters,  have  rested 
in  the  hands  of  these  two  functionaries,  and  truly  the  standing 
wonder  is  that  the  discipline  has  been  so  good. 

To  take  the  Beadle  first.  Our  account  of  St.  Matthew’s 
Day  customs  has  shown  that  his  duties  were  not  confined 
at  first  to  the  Hospital,  but  that  he  combined  with  them 
the  powers  of  a policeman  in  the  streets  and  as  such  was 
under  the  supervision  of  the  City  Marshall  The  duty  of 
these  Beadles,  as  laid  down  in  the  “Order”  of  1557,  was 
to  walk  every  day,  “two  and  two  together,”  through  the 
wards  of  the  City  and  to  “ apprehend  and  convey  to  Bride- 
well ” all  “ vagrant  and  idle  persons.”  Both  the  words  and 
the  circumstances  suggest  that  we  are  in  the  near  neighbour- 
hood of  Dogbeny  and  Verges.  At  the  time  the  “ Order  ” 
was  drawn  up,  the  Porter  was  clearly  more  concerned  with 
duties  inside  the  walls  of  the  Hospital.  “You  shalbe  atten- 
dant diligentlie  and  carefully  in  looking  to  the  gates  ; chiefly 
in  the  winter  evenings,  and  se  them  shut  in  at  a due  hour, 
and  after  they  be  shut  in,  to  be  circumspect  whom  you  let 
in  and  out.”  The  hour  for  the  latest  admission  is  nine  p.m. 
in  winter  and  ten  p.m.  in  “ somer  season.”  “ Faile  you  not 
this  to  obserue,  as  you  will  answer  thereunto  if  any  complaint 
come  thereof,  before  the  gouernours.  And  you  shall  not 
make  or  medle  in  any  other  man’s  office,  but  duely  doe 
your  owne.”  In  course  of  time,  however,  it  happened  that 
the  Beadles  were  more  and  more  employed  inside  the 
Hospital,  while  the  Porter  added  to  his  duties  various 
functions  which  eked  out  his  scanty  emoluments,  and  it  was 
no  wonder  that  in  early  days  masters  did  not  think  scorn  to 
be  appointed  to  look  after  the  Lodge.  One  reason  why  this 
office  was  in  request  was  that  the  staff  as  a rule  were  thirsty 
souls.  In  1683  the  Committee  desired  the  opinion  of  the 
Court  as  to  a report  “ that  severall  persons  in  this  Hospitall 
doe  send  for  beere  from  the  Buttery  which  hath  hitherto 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


245 


been  delivered  to  them  and  by  Computation  it  amounts 
to  3 Barrells  in  each  weeke — which  is  a considerable  charge 
to  this  House  yearly.”  Mr.  Parrey,  the  Chief  Clerk,  who 
was  apt  to  indulge,  and  whose  indulgence  (as  the  letters 
in  the  British  Museum  reveal)  landed  him  in  applying  for 
a small  loan  to  Mr.  Pepys,  produced  an  order  of  the  Court 
in  1638,  which  clearly  settled  the  matter.  “From  henceforth,” 
it  ran,  “ the  Steward  shall  not  deliver  any  small  Beere  to  any 
officer  of  this  House  w’soever.”  But,  if  the  Buttery  ran  dry, 
there  was  always  the  Lodge  to  go  to.  It  was  reported  in 
1625  that  John  Phillips,  the  Porter,  “did  keepe  an  Alehouse 
in  his  lodge  without  the  license  and  consent  of  the  Gouernors.” 
The  Porter’s  answer  to  the  accusation  was  that  “hee  did  it  for 
the  comoditie  of  the  Neighboures  and  the  officers  of  this 
House,”  but  he  was  met  at  once  by  an  order  “ that  no  drinke 
shalbe  sold  in  this  house  by  him  nor  any  officer  or  pson 
whatsoever.”  It  would  appear  that  the  Order  was  honoured 
in  the  breach;  indeed  in  1636  Phillips  came  forward  once 
more  with  a petition  to  be  allowed  to  keep  “a  Tippling  house 
for  the  selling  of  drinke  and  victualling.”  His  predecessor 
had  it,  he  argued,  and  it  would  tend  to  “the  satisfying  of 
his  creditors.”  But  he  failed  to  get  leave.  How  far  the 
Puritan  era  dispensed  with  “small  Beere”  does  not  appear 
from  our  records,  but  at  the  Restoration  there  is  again  a 
shebeen  at  the  Lodge.  H.  Bannister,  the  Porter  of  1662, 
“employs  a maide  servant”  to  attend  to  the  gate  and  “keepes 
an  Alehouse  in  this  house,  which  may  prove  very  prejuditiall 
to  the  same  and  the  inhabitants  therein,  in  regard  hee  keepes 
the  keyes  and  may  lett  in  and  out  whom  he  pleases  at  all 
howers  of  the  night.”  If  it  happens  again,  he  will  “be  dis- 
missed from  his  place  ipso  facto,”  and  ipso  facto  was  a terrific 
phrase  among  the  scribes  of  the  Counting  House.  But  the 
Governors  themselves  were  partly  responsible  for  this  par- 
ticular taproom.  The  very  next  year,  1663,  “ it  was  the 
desire  of  severall  Gent : some  of  them  members  of  this 
Hospitall  that  the  place  in  the  Stewards  garden  heretofore 
a bouleing  Alley  might  be  fitted  for  that  use,  and  the 
said  psons  would  engage  that  none  but  civell  persons  should 


246  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

Live  the  use  thereof.  Ihe  Howling  Alley,  for  which  the 
then  Steward  supplied  the  refreshments,  had  come  to  an  end 
in  1638,  no  doubt  as  the  result  of  Puritan  objections;  but 
now  the  Court  gave  a lease  of  it  for  thirteen  years  to  the 
very  Porter  whom  they  had  ordered  not  to  sell  “ drinke  and 
victualling.” 

Quite  apart,  however,  from  these  enticements  to  a jovial 
existence  the  Beadles  had  plenty  of  occupation.  The  Hospital 
was  for  a long  time  without  any  great  frontage  on  a main 
street,  yet  it  did  not  lack  for  gates  by  which  to  reach  the 
outside  world.  There  was  “the  door  out  of  Grey  fryars 
into  the  Gramar  Schoolc  yard  ” (in  the  present  Hall-Play); 
“the  Town  Ditch  gate  next  Little  Brittain”  ; “the  doore  out 
of  M1'  Brice’s  schoole  into  the  Lodge  ’’ ; “ the  gate  leading 
out  of  the  Cloystcrs  along  by  the  Church.”  In  other  words, 
there  was  ready  communication  with  Newgate  Street,  Giltspur 
Street,  Christ  Church  Passage,  and  Little  Britain.  And  the 
work  of  the  Beadles  came  to  have  several  distinct  parts. 
They  had  to  keep  young  children  out ; they  had  to  keep 
the  Hospital  children  in  ; and  they  had  to  police  the  miscel- 
laneous crowds  who  frequented  the  grounds. 

The  children  whom  they  had  to  keep  out  were  “ found- 
lings”— a long-lived  source  of  trouble  to  the  School  and 
the  neighbourhood.  It  would  seem  to  have  become  acute 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  During 
this  period  there  were  constant  complaints  that  people 
brought  infants  into  the  Cloisters  and  left  them  there  in 
the  hope  that  the  Hospital  would  look  after  them,  and 
there  were  constant  warnings  to  the  Beadles  to  patrol  the 
Cloisters  and  prevent  the  practice.  In  the  case  of  a 
notoriously  negligent  Beadle,  called  Robert  Guppy,  the 
Governors  in  1646  hit  upon  an  ingenious  penalty.  He  was 
sentenced  either  to  take  charge  of  a recent  foundling  at 
his  own  cost  or  leave  his  place.  Of  course  the  Governors 
were  very  frequently  merciful  to  the  young  waifs  and  strays 
thus  forced  on  them — which  only  aggravated  the  trouble — 
and  it  must  have  been  hard  for  the  unfortunate  Beadles  to 
prevent  the  “dropping”  of  the  children  in  the  crowded 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


247 


thoroughfares  of  the  Hospital.  Their  duties  did  not  allow 
them  to  be  always  patrolling  the  Cloisters,  and  in  spite  of 
an  order  (May  1699)  that  “in  such  case  they  are  to  take  care 
that  their  wives  doe  attend  the  Cloysters  in  their  absence,” 
the  leaving  of  children  went  on,  till  the  parishioners  of 
Christ  Church  began  to  clamour  loudly,  for  every  child  laid 
outside  the  gates  of  the  school  became  a charge  upon  them. 
In  1696  the  whole  question  was  argued  out  before  the  Court 
of  Aldermen.  The  Hospital  offered  to  take  in  one  found- 
ling, if  the  parish  would  be  responsible  for  the  next,  and 
so  on  alternately,  but  “ the  parishioners  did  not  seeme  to  be 
contented  therewith  and  soe  departed.”  No  modus  vivendi 
appears  to  have  been  arrived  at,  nor  was  anything  done 
except  to  give  the  Churchwardens  leave  to  post  the  following 
notice  at  the  various  school  gates  (which  indeed  the  Governors 
should  have  done  at  their  own  expense)  : — 

‘ These  are  to  certify  that  no  Child  or  Children  who  are 
dropped  in  Christ’s  Hospital  can  receive  any  benefit  from 
thence.’ 

In  fact,  the  Beadle  was  the  only  hope. 

Secondly,  there  was  the  greater  responsibility  of  keeping 
the  children  of  the  Hospital  within  the  walls,  when  the  many 
gates  and  the  constant  coming  and  going  made  it  so  easy 
for  them  to  “slope.”  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  the 
modern  sense  of  the  word  there  were  no  “ vacations  ” ; the 
school  was  never  emptied  of  its  young  denizens  at  any 
time  in  the  year  till  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  There 
were  a few  days’  rest  after  each  of  the  half-yearly  examina- 
tions. The  stereotyped  reports  of  “the  Visitacon  of  the 
Schooles  ” always  end  with  a resolution  in  these  words : 
“ that  the  masters  do  break  up  School  and  play  till  Monday 
morning  next.”  The  same  thing  happened  at  Christmas, 
Easter,  and  Whitsuntide,  and  all  holy-days  were  half-holidays. 
But  to  “ lye  abroad  at  nights,”  in  other  words,  to  go  home  for 
a few  days,  was  a penal  offence.  So  “ chasing  ” — in  the 
eighteenth  century  it  was  called  “ elopeing  ” — became  a fine 
art,  in  which  some  of  the  young  gentlemen  gave  themselves 
plenty  of  practice.  The  year  1710  shall  serve  as  an  instance 


248  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Two  boys  (both  “Mathemats”)  ran  away  in  June,  eight  in  July, 
two  in  August,  and  seven  in  September.  The  year  following 
would  have  served  equally  well ; for  two  went  in  April, 
having  been  convicted  of  a similar  offence  the  previous 
September,  one  in  May,  five  in  June,  and  five  in  July.  The 
reason  for  such  an  epidemic  is  not  given  in  respect  of  these 
particular  years,  and  indeed  is  very  seldom  clear.  Take  the 
instance  of  August  1694  (the  youths  very  seldom  “chased” 
in  the  winter)  when  “ Mr  Steward  informed  this  Com®0  that 
there  hath  been  lately  ten  boyes  run  away  from  the  House 
within  less  than  a weekes  time  (viz1)  three  of  them  lay  out 
about  10  dayes  and  the  rest  a night  or  two,  but  are  all  now 
returned  againe  & have  received  the  usuall  correction  of  the 
House.”  So  the  Committee  sent  for  them  “ and  inquired  of 
them  what  reason  they  can  give  for  their  goeing  away ; they 
all  made  very  triviall  excuses,  except  Edward  Audley,  who 
alledged  that  he  hath  been  frequently  beaten  and  abused  by 
the  upper  boyes  of  the  King’s  ward  for  not  procuring  them 
money  as  oft  as  they  would  have  it.”  Per  contra  the  “ Mathe- 
mats ” alleged  that  Audley  was  “ a very  lying  boy,”  and 
the  incident  was  closed  in  the  usual  manner  “ by  one  of  the 
Beadles.”  Sometimes  the  running  away  had  a commercial 
object,  for  the  Steward  was  told  in  June  1690  to  “charge  all 
the  children  that  noe  one  for  the  future  presume  to  goe  to 
any  Taverne  Ale  house  or  other  publick  house  to  show  their 
writing  or  to  sing  or  other  wayes  without  leave  first  obtained 
from  this  Comeo.”  Sometimes  it  was  from  a sheer  determina- 
tion to  vary  the  monotony  of  existence,  as  when  two  boys 
in  October  1720  “wandering  Northward  were  from  the  City 
of  York  sent  by  a pass  to  Hull  and  from  thence  Passed  by 
water  to  London  and  almost  devoured  with  itch  and  lice.” 

The  Beadles,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  determination  of  the 
children  to  see  the  world,  clearly  had  no  sinecure.  There 
are  occasional  orders  of  the  Committee  that  they  should 
redouble  their  vigilance;  eg.  in  September  1711,  a year 
already  referred  to,  “ that  two  of  the  Beadles  in  turn  to- 
gether with  the  Porter  shall  attend  the  Cloysters  and  Town- 
ditch  dayly  all  hours  after  schooltime  and  take  notice  and 


IN  1823 


IN  1901 


130 VS’  WARDS 


FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  REV.  O.  K.  JfEYWOOD 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


249 


give  up  the  names  to  the  Steward  of  such  Boys  as  shall 
presume  to  goe  out  of  their  bounds  without  leave.  This 
means  that  they  were  to  keep  their  eyes  open  to  detect  any 
of  the  young  gentlemen  levanting.  But  the  latter  were 
naturally  sharper  than  the  Beadles,  as  the  horrible  conduct 
of  Thomas  Dawson  will  show  (Court  Book,  December  12, 
1717).  He  “had  been  notoriously  guilty  of  breaking  the 
good  Rules  and  orders  of  this  House  by  ffrequenting  the 
Play-House  and  other  irregularities  and  immoralities  to 
the  ill  example  of  other  the  children  of  this  House.” 
Worse  still,  it  appeared  that  “ the  way  of  their  comeing  into 
this  Hospital  at  unseasonable  hours  was  through  some  of 
the  Tennements  on  the  North  side  of  the  Town  Ditch,” 
and  pains  and  penalties  against  the  tenants  were  only  re- 
mitted on  their  “entering  into  a covenant  to  pay  twenty 
shillings  by  way  of  Rent  on  conviction  of  every  Boy  that 
shall  come  through  any  of  their  houses.”  In  fact,  the  “Blue” 
with  only  the  normal  tendency  to  assert  the  liberty  of  the 
subject  must  have  regarded  the  Beadle  in  the  Cloister  as  a 
perpetual  check,  save  in  the  many  instances  where  Beadles 
neglected  their  duty  altogether. 

In  the  Wards  and  in  the  Hall  the  Beadle  gave  place  to  the 
Nurse,  and  Nurses  were  not  aforetime  the  kindly  and  efficient 
ladies  of  to-day.  They  would  perhaps  reply  that  they  were 
hardly  paid  to  be  either  kindly  or  efficient,  for  up  to  1638 
they  received  2 s.  4 d.  a week  for  their  “dyet  and  Board- 
wages.”  In  that  year,  “ in  respect  of  the  hardnes  of  the 
times  and  the  deerness  of  all  manner  of  victualls,”  the  sum 
was  raised  to  3J.  6d.  in  each  case,  except  that  of  one  nurse 
who  receives  £ 6 a year  “ for  dressing  the  childrens  soare 
heads  & mouthes.”  She  shortly  afterwards  resigned  “her 
place  of  surgionshipp.”  But  even  at  2s-  &d.  a week  they 
were  not  always  in  a good  temper.  “ Rebeckah  Robson, 
one  of  the  nurses,”  it  is  written,  May  1641,  “ hath  oftentimes 
misbehaved  herselfe  and  of  late  hath  abused  Mr  Treasurer 
as  alsoe  the  Steward  and  all  the  Nurses  with  ill  speeches  and 
bad  languages  and  is  a woman  full  of  contention  and  brawl- 
ing, which  makes  the  Nurses  weary  to  be  in  the  House 


- 50  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


with  her.  . . . Shee  hath  fallen  out  with  one  of  the  Nurses 
and  threwe  a dish  of  scalding  pottage  in  her  eyes  and  face, 
that  she  hath  not  been  able  to  come  from  her  bed  nor  hold 
up  her  Eyes.”  About  the  same  time  another  nurse  had  been 
calling  the  children  “untoward  names.”  They  were  frequently 
in  trouble  for  “ harbouring  ” their  own  children  and  keeping 
lodgers  in  the  wards  ; it  will  be  remembered  that  a ship’s 
captain  brought  back  a “ Mathemat,”  whom  he  had  taken  as 
apprentice,  complaining  that  the  boy  had  married  a nurse’s 
daughter  before  he  went  to  sea.  The  nurses  also  were 
sometimes  reprimanded  for  keeping  the  girls  of  the  House 
as  their  servants  and  sending  the  boys  on  errands.  But 
considering  that  their  office  had  its  menial  side,  that  it  was 
part  of  their  duty  to  “ water  and  sweep  the  Hall  morning 
and  att  noone,”  that  they  had  to  “constantly  weare  their 
blue  liveries  ” on  public  occasions,  it  is  a wonder  that  more 
harm  did  not  come  of  committing  the  children  to  their 
charge.  Against  the  livery  they  could  and  did  protest  (in 
1687),  “ which  gave  the  Committee  noe  satisfaction.”  Against 
the  contempt  of  the  young  gentlemen  they  could  arm  them- 
selves with  an  order  of  the  Committee  in  1676  “that  noe 
Nurse  permitt  her  children  in  the  Wards  to  Ware  their  capps 
in  her  presence.”  At  the  very  outset  the  nurses  were  no 
doubt  a necessity.  Their  charge  as  composed  in  1557  bade 
them  “ keepe  ” and  “ sweetly  noorishe  ” the  “ tender  babes  & 
younglings”  committed  to  their  care.  But  the  Hospital 
maintained  them  in  their  place  when  it  had  become  a school 
for  boys  between  eight  and  nineteen. 

It  may  be  well  now  to  say  what  can  be  ascertained  as  to 
the  day’s  routine  in  the  Hospital  during  the  first  two  centuries 
of  its  existence.  For  a century  and  a half  the  bell  rang  all 
the  year  round  at  six  in  the  morning,  and  the  children  were 
in  school  at  seven.  The  present  system  of  making  some 
concession  in  the  winter  began  in  1702  with  an  order  of 
Committee  that  from  All  Saints  Day  to  Candlemas  Day 
the  bell  instead  of  ringing  at  six  shall  not  be  rung  till  seven  • 
in  the  morning  “to  call  ye  children  up  & at  eight  to  call 
them  to  schoole.”  As  morning  school  lasted  straight  on  till 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


251 


eleven,  it  is  obvious  that  the  hour  from  6 a.m.  to  7 a.m. 
(summer)  and  7 a.m.  to  8 a.m.  (winter)  was  all  the  time 
allowed  for  toilet  and  breakfast.  It  would  be  scarcely  less 
than  an  insult  to  antiquity  to  describe  the  washing  accom- 
modation prior  to  about  i860  as  “ primitive.”  For  instance, 
the  Committee  had  the  question  of  a Bath  before  them  in 
1689,  and  did  “not  think  it  advisable  that  a hothouse  or 
place  for  salivating  (sic)  should  be  made  in  this  Hospital. 
But  (with  submission)  doe  think  it  very  adviseable  that  a 
convenient  bath  that  will  hold  6 children  at  the  least  be 
made.”  In  the  same  year  there  is  a reference  to  the  system 
that  has  prevailed  to  this  present  of  washing  under  taps. 
“There  was  formerly  a sett  of  small  cocks  neare  the  Wash- 
house for  all  the  children  to  wash  themselves  separately,  soe 
that  they  might  not  wash  together  in  Tubbs  (as  they  now 
doo)  ” ; and  they  decided  that  there  should  be  henceforth  one 
set  of  tapps  “above  staires”  for  the  “ Mathemats and  “a 
convenient  place  below  staires  for  the  rest  of  the  children 
that  soo  they  may  wash  their  hands  apart.” 

However  it  might  be  accomplished,  the  Nurse’s  duty  is 
thus  given  in  an  order  of  1676:  “In  the  morning  at  the 
ringing  of  the  second  bell  [presumably  at  6.30  or  7.30 
according  to  the  time  of  year]  every  Nurse  shall  put  her 
Children  before  the  Steward  and  Matron  in  the  Hall  in  a 
handsome  and  cleanly  dresse,  and  then  and  there  make  com- 
plaint of  what  misdemeanours  have  been  Acted  by  their 
children  the  night  past.”  In  order  to  detect  truants  “ a 
perfect  Catalogue  of  the  Children’s  names  ” was  to  be  read 
over  at  each  meal.  After  morning  school  came  dinner ; after 
afternoon  school  there  would  be  an  interval  before  supper, 
during  which  the  children  were  permitted  to  amuse  themselves 
within  certain  narrow  restrictions  to  be  mentioned  directly. 
It  is  probable  that  the  present  supper-hour,  six  o’clock,  has 
never  varied ; modern  times  have  only  postponed  the  hour  for 
going  to  bed,  and  the  last  scene  of  all  from  November  1695 
to  the  present  time  has  been  the  ringing  of  “the  Hospitalls 
publick  bell  at  “three  quarters  of  an  hour  past  nine  o’clock” 
in  order  that  all  strangers  might  withdraw  by  ten. 


252  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

But,  if  we  are  to  understand  the  life  of  the  place  by  day, 
it  is  necessary  to  go  into  further  details.  The  School,  though 
devoid  of  frontage,  must  have  been  a strange  pandemonium 
inside ; for  the  buildings  till  the  nineteenth  century  were 
never  confined  to  their  proper  purpose.  The  public  seem 
to  have  established  rights  of  way  through  the  grounds.  For 
instance,  the  present  Christ  Church  Passage  represents  the 
custom  of  passing  on  business  through  the  old  Christ  Church 
under  the  lantern-tower  into  the  Hospital  and  out  again  into 
Little  Britain.  The  minutes  contain  constant  references 
to  the  “ Long  Walk,”  whose  actual  course  is  not  certain, 
as  will  be  seen  in  the  account  of  the  buildings,  but  it  would 
seem  that  it  began  at  Little  Britain,  passed  along  the  Ditch, 
then  through  the  West  Cloister,  and  so  by  the  “Grey  Friars” 
to  Newgate  Street,  about  opposite  to  Warwick  Lane.  This 
constant  coming  and  going  brought  with  it  a large  amount 
of  “ traffic  ” in  another  sense.  The  first  case  of  this  sort 
after  the  Great  Fire  implies  that  it  was  only  a continuance 
of  a previous  system.  In  December  1666  “Mistress 
Theame,  shoemaker,”  asked  leave  “to  build  her  a shopp  in 
yc  cloysters  to  sell  Gingerbread  inn,  and  she  would  pay  the 
yearely  rent  of  xxxs  ” ; she  further  begged  the  Governors 
“ to  build  her  a Shopp  next  the  Great  Gate  to  the  Long 
Walke  [?  in  Little  Britain]  and  another  Shopp  within  the 
Walls  as  formerly  for  her  men  to  make  shoes”  for  the 
children.  The  Governors  warned  her  that  “she  did  keepe 
very  bad  howers  in  the  Booth  that  she  hath  erected  in  the 
Towne  Ditch,”  and  she  got  what  she  asked  on  the  not 
extreme  condition  that  she  “would  not  p’mitt  hereafter  any 
children  of  the  house  to  have  any  drinke  att  unreasonable 
howers.”  In  1717  it  appears  that  Mistress  Theame  had 
many  successors.  “ Severall  idle  persons  and  others  selling 
fruit  and  other  things  are  frequently  suffered  to  Loiture  and 
sitt  in  the  Cloysters  . . . which  is  not  only  of  ill  consequence 
to  the  children  but  also  makes  Crowds  and  Stops  to  the 
obstructing  of  Passingers  and  other  inconveniences.” 
Evidently  the  various  gates  left  a good  deal  to  be  desired, 
as  is  shown  by  an  entry  of  the  following  year.  Incon- 


FROM  A I'HOTOGRAl'H  BY  THE  REV.  V.  F.  HEYWOOD 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


253 


venience,  it  says,  “dayly  happens  by  persons  carrying 
Burthens  and  sometimes  by  Cattle  running  through  the 
Hospital,”  and  it  is  suggested  that  the  Treasurer  should 
have  “a  post  or  an  Iron”  placed  “in  the  Middle  of  the 
Doorways  leading  to  the  said  Hospital.” 

Mention  has  been  made  elsewhere  of  Sir  John  Moore’s 
endowment  for  the  Writing  School.  It  took  the  form  of 
building  shops  in  the  six  arches  under  the  building.  Wren’s 
design  (strangely  enough,  for  the  Bath  is  now  close  at 
hand)  was  to  use  this  space  for  “ a washhouse,”  but  the 
Treasurer  overruled  him.  The  shops  were  built,  and  among 
the  tenants  were  an  earthenware  dealer,  a “cordweyner” 
(who,  however,  was  not  to  “ mend,  sell,  or  make  any  show 
of  shooes  in  his  shop,”  presumably  to  protect  the  monopoly 
of  the  Hospital’s  shoemaker),  a “ sempster  ” (female),  a silver- 
smith, and  a milliner.  All  but  the  last  paid  a rent  of  £10. 
The  milliner,  as  having  “ the  first  shop  next  the  long  walke,” 
and  therefore  the  best  position,  paid  £13.  The  conditions 
of  their  tenancy  were  as  follows : “ They  shall  be  single 
persons  as  neere  as  may  be”  and  the  Hospital  is  not  to  be 
held  responsible  for  any  “charge  and  damage  which  may 
happen  by  their  entertaining  or  harbouring  of  any  friends, 
relations,  &c.”  They  are  not  to  “sell  any  strong  drink  or 
any  other  liquors  whatever,”  and  they  are  to  conform  to  the 
hours  for  shutting  up  the  Hospital  at  night.  But  in  practice 
these  rules  were  useless.  Within  ten  years  the  Governors 
had  to  face  the  necessity  either  of  insuring  the  Writing 
School,  which  was  “ in  great  danger  of  fire  by  reason  of  the 
shops  underneath,”  or  of  pulling  the  shops  down.  Ulti- 
mately they  did  both.  In  1712  they  insured  their  building 
for  £1,500,  and  six  years  later  (1718)  they  pulled  the  shops 
down  to  make  “ a playing  place.”  But  the  boys  would  never 
have  had  their  “ playing-place  ” if  it  had  been  possible  to 
keep  the  shopkeepers  to  their  bye-laws  and  regulations. 
Witness  the  comical  case  of  John  Hawkins  and  his  wife, 
who  had  one  of  the  shops,  and  who  were  late  home  one 
night  in  1710.  He  was  sent  for  by  the  Committee  next 
morning,  “ but  he  being  abroad,  his  wife  came,  and  said  that 


254  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


the  clock  had  but  just  gone  ten,  and  that  she  got  round  to 
Gray  fryers  gate  before  the  keys  were  carried  in.”  Mr. 
Hawkins,  being  “worst  in  blood  to  run,”  came  “over  the 
gate  next  Little  Brittain.”  The  Committee  sent  Mrs. 
Hawkins  away  with  a message  to  her  husband  that  “they 
resent  it  very  ill  that  he  should  offer  to  climb  the  Gates  and 
advise  him  to  keep  better  hours.” 

And  beside  this  continuous  traffic  of  all  kinds,  there  was 
the  occasional  excitement  of  “ bonefires,”  which  were  stopped 
“upon  any  occasion  whatsoever”  in  1707,  and  there  was 
the  annual  excitement  of  Bartholomew  Fair.  The  actual 
fun  of  the  Fair  centred  in  a spot  outside  the  walls  of  Christ’s 
Hospital ; but  it  is  evident  that  the  school-grounds  were  let 
to  stall-keepers  during  the  Fair.  Mr.  Pepys  on  August  31st, 
1662,  after  a visit  to  “ a pitiful  alehouse,”  with  “a  great  deal 
of  trouble  in  being  there  and  getting  from  thence  for  fear 
of  being  seen,”  met  a bevy  of  lady  friends  at  the  Fair. 
“ After  that,  with  them  into  Christ’s  Hospitall,  and  there 
Mr  Pickering  brought  them  their  fairings,  and  I did  give 
every  one  of  them  a bauble.”  In  such  surroundings  school- 
work  was  obviously  impossible,  and  it  came  to  be  the  custom 
to  “break  up  school”  for  some  days.  But  in  1667  appeared 
an  order  that  “ the  children  shall  not  play  this  Barthustide,” 
and  that  “no  booth  shall  be  erected  in  this  hospital  this  fair 
tyme.”  But  the  first  part  of  it  seems  to  have  been  disregarded, 
for  there  is  a still  weightier  pronouncement  on  the  same 
subject  on  August  22nd,  1698.  It  refers  to  “ the  great  hazard 
and  mischief  that  the  children  of  this  House  may  be  exposed 
to  both  as  to  their  bodies  and  Moralls,  by  their  being  in 
Bartholemew  Fair,  and  the  scandall  that  may  hereby  accrue 
to  this  House,  wch  have  been  lately  charged  in  print  with 
unparalleld  immorality  and  irreligion  [I  understand  the  Fair 
to  be  the  antecedent  of  “ which  ”]  and  also  his  Majesties  late 
gratious  proclamation  against  Vice.”  Taking  all  this  into 
consideration  the  Governors  wisely  ordered  “ that  the 
children  shall  be  continued  at  Schoole  and  the  Bell  to  ringe 
too  morrow  morning  at  the  usuall  houre  ” and  so  throughout 
the  Fair. 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


255 


Amid  all  this  excitement  and  with  so  many  interests  to  be 
considered,  it  may  well  be  asked  what  chance  there  was  of 
the  boys  getting  proper  exercise.  Even  now,  with  the  generous 
expanse  of  the  Hall-Play  entirely  at  their  disposal,  the 
“Blues”  are  athletic,  as  the  Scotchman  is  slanderously 
affirmed  to  be  humorous,  “ wi’  deefficulty,”  and  their  games 
have  been  attended  by  a good  many  “surgical  operations.” 
But  up  to  a century  ago  everything  seemed  to  combine 
against  them.  The  Governors’  usual  formula  must  have 
been  “writ  sarcastic”;  it  appears  in  an  order  just  subsequent 
to  the  one  last  quoted,  which  agreed  that,  having  been  de- 
prived of  their  “ Fair  tyme”  holiday,  the  children  “shall  have 
liberty  to  play  from  this  time”  (September  27th,  1698)  until 
October  10th.  But  how  much  “liberty”  did  they  get?  The 
first  restriction  was  quite  fit  and  proper.  Some  of  the 
Almoners  of  1678  belonged  to  the  Anti-Gambling  League 
and  did  “ forewarne  the  children  that  they  play  not  att  any 
game  for  money.”  Again,  as  the  “ Hall-Play  ” was  not  then 
an  “open  space,”  the  natural  place  for  games  was  in  the 
“ Ditch  ” ; but  the  Hospital  had  tenants  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Town-Ditch,  who  objected  to  games,  and  possibly  with 
some  reason.  “The  inhabitants  near  the  Towne  Ditch,”  says 
a minute  of  1678,  “doe  very  much  complaine  of  the  rude 
behaviour  of  the  children  of  this  Hospitall  who  with  their 
Racketts  and  otherwayes  break  their  Windows  with  Stones.” 
The  Governors  called  the  Steward  and  told  him  to  go  round 
and  “ command  them  to  desist  from  such  exercises  as  may 
prove  prejudiciall  to  the  said  inhabitants.”  Hampered  by  the 
crotchety  inhabitants  of  the  “ Ditch,”  the  youngsters  would 
try  the  “ Garden,”  and  just  off  the  Garden,  not  separated 
from  it  as  clearly  as  now,  was  the  Counting  House  Yard. 
Every  “Blue”  remembers  its  sacro-sanctity ; we  hesitated 
even  to  recover  from  it  a ball  that  had  got  there  through 
no  fault  of  ours.  This  tradition  can  be  dated  quite  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  when  there  was  a complaint  of  the 
“ mischief  and  inconveniences  ...  of  the  children  being 
permitted  to  frequent  and  Play  in  the  Compting  House 
Yard,  they  not  only  doing  much  damage  by  breaking  the 


256  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

windows  but  by  their  noise  greatly  obstructing  and  hindering 
of  business  and  interrupting  of  Courts  and  Committees.” 
It  was  ordered  that  from  henceforth  the  Counting  House 
Yard  should  be  left  in  the  peace  which  is  still  its  pride.  Once 
more  there  is  about  this  time  a reference  to  the  games,  which 
implies  a further  restriction  of  freedom.  It  takes  the  form 
of  a report,  dated  February  12th,  1725,  upon  “the  great  Mis- 
chiefs and  inconveniences  that  dayly  arise  as  well  to  Persons 
passing  thro’  this  Hospitall  as  to  and  amongst  the  Children 
of  the  said  Hospital,  occasioned  by  their  throwing  of  Snow- 
balls Playing  at  Football  throwing  at  Cocks  or  Bricks  or 
other  things  sett  up  in  imitation  of  Cocks  Trapp  ball  or 
Crickett  Castle  Topps  throwing  Balls  or  Sticks  one  at  another 
or  other  such  like  games  or  pastimes  were  {sic)  sticks  are 
used  as  also  in  Running  about  the  House  in  the  Evening 
with  lighted  Torches  Links  or  Candles  throwing  the  same 
at  each  other  to  the  endangering  of  the  Hospital  by  Fire." 
It  is  no  great  wonder  that  the  last  should  be  forbidden,  but 
a fiat  went  forth  against  all  the  games  mentioned.  I have 
left  the  Minute  as  it  stands,  without  a suspicion  of  punctua- 
tion, but  it  appears  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  “ Blue  ” of 
King  George  I.’s  reign  recognised  Football,  which  was  charac- 
teristic of  Shrove-Tuesday,  a day  not  far  removed  from 
February  12th;  Aunt  Sally;  Trap-ball  or  Cricket,  which 
came  into  the  public  schools  in  the  reign  of  George  I.,  and 
cannot  have  been  very  scientific  on  the  cobbles  of  the  Ditch 
and  would  hardly  be  permitted  on  the  turf  of  the  “ Garden 
Castle,  a game  which  survived  in  my  time  on  summer 
evenings  under  such  names  as  “ Storm  the  Castle,”  etc. ; 
Top-spinning,  which  still  adds  a terror  to  life  about  Easter 
time ; and  some  form  of  “ Rounders,”  which  seems  to  be 
implied  in  “ throwing  Balls  or  Sticks  one  at  another.”  The 
list  is  a fairly  comprehensive  one,  and  it  is  questionable 
whether  the  notice  posted  up  “that  for  the  future  no  such 
things  be  permitted  or  suffered  to  be  done  by  the  said 
Children  ” received  or  was  meant  to  receive  very  much 
attention. 

Still  it  is  no  wonder  that,  if  their  games  were  interfered 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


257 


with  and  they  had  no  outlet  for  superfluous  energy,  they  not 
seldom  became  unmanageable.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary 
for  the  Almoners,  as  in  1674,  to  go  “upp  into  the  great  hall” 
and  “having  called  all  the  children  of  the  House  together”  to 
“ press  the  said  children  to  yield  obedience  to  the  orders  of 
this  house  ” ; or  that  they  should  have  to  call  the  masters 
together,  as  in  1703,  when  the  latter  “all  delivered  it  as  their 
opinion  that,  notwithstanding  they  use  all  possible  care  to 
observe  and  correct  the  boyes  for  their  bad  moralls,  yet  they 
are  much  more  ungovernable  than  heretofore  ” ; or  that  some 
of  the  youths  had  to  be  held  in  check  with  a threat  that  they 
should  “certainly  be  sent  to  Bridewell  and  be  kept  to  hard 
labour  for  a month.”  The  chief  offenders  against  public 
order  both  then  and  long  afterwards,  as  “ Elia  ” testifies,  were 
the  “ Mathemats.”  Beadles  complained  that  they  “ gave  ill 
language  at  home  ” and  showed  “ rude  behaviour  abroad  ” 
at  funerals.  “ Mr  Mountfort  alsoe  complained  against  them 
for  their  insolence  and  sawcey  carriage  to  him  at  Catechizing 
time”  (March  1707).  There  was  a similar  incident  in  1719, 
when  the  culprits  “expressing  a just  sorrow  for  their  fault 
received  a reprimand  from  the  Right  Worp1  The  President.” 
In  1728  there  was  a serious  epidemic  of  Mathematical 
bullying,  “ chiefly  by  the  Boys  in  the  upper  class  and 
sometimes  by  the  Boys  in  the  second  class.”  It  took 
the  form  of  these  young  pirates  “ insulting  beating  and 
keeping  in  subjection  the  other  children  . . . and  taking 
from  them  their  money,  caps,  girdles,  and  other  things, 
and  compelling  them  to  goe  on  errands  and  do  servile 
offices,  as  cleaneing  their  shoes,  waiteing  and  being  attend- 
ant on  them  as  servants.”  The  year  following  one  of  the 
“ Dames  ” lets  in  some  light  on  to  their  system  by  com- 
plaining to  the  Committee  that  “they  did  not  conforme  to 
the  Discipline  and  Rules  observed  in  the  Ward”  but  “gave 
very  rude  saucy  and  unbecoming  language  to  her”  and 
“ governed  themselves  by  Rules  and  orders  of  their  own, 
inventing  and  making  which  they  handed  down  from  one 
to  the  other.”  It  appears  from  an  entry  of  April  4th,  1734, 
that  their  insubordination  was  worst  “ after  they  have  passed 
s 


258  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

their  examinacon  at  the  Trinity  House,”  when  “they  look 
upon  themselves  as  no  longer  subject  to  the  Rules  and 
Discipline  of  the  House.”  Nor  were  the  “Mathemats”  the 
only  offenders.  Paul  Wright,  the  head  Grecian  in  1735, 
was  also  brought  up  on  a charge  of  bullying.  He  was 
ordered  to  make  “ the  Publick  Recantation  ” (of  which  more 
directly)  and  to  “make  a theam  in  Latin  and  English” 
on  a subject  to  be  selected  by  the  Upper  Grammar  Master. 
But  Paul  Wright  had  other  views  on  the  subject,  and  some 
time  afterwards  it  was  reported  that  he  had  “neglected  to 
make  any  such  theam,  altho  upwards  of  nine  weeks  ago 
his  Master  had  ever  since  excused  his  nightly  exercise  the 
better  to  enable  him  to  do  so.”  He  was  therefore  sentenced 
to  bring  it  up  on  “Tuesday  sevennights.”  Apparently  he 
obeyed,  for  within  a month  he  was  sent  up  to  Pembroke 
with  “the  usuall  exhibitions  and  settling  Fees.”  He  after- 
wards took  Orders,  obtained  Hospital  livings,  preached  a 
St.  Matthew’s  Day  sermon,  and  in  1781  issued  “The  complete 
British  Family  Bible”  in  eighty  numbers,  as  “the  result  of 
more  than  forty  years’  Study  and  Experience.”  It  professes 
among  other  things  that  in  it  “all  the  difficult  and  obscure 
passages  will  be  clearly* explained,”  and  “the  whole  of  the 
Divine  Revelation  . . . displayed  in  its  original  Purity,  and 
rendered  easy,  pleasant,  and  profitable  to  every  capacity,  both 
with  respect  to  Faith  and  Practice.”  * Evidently  it  must  not 
only  have  been  cheap  at  any  price  but  must  also  have 
implied  a repentance  of  its  author’s  youthful  neglect  of  his 
“ theam.” 

The  latter  was  by  no  means  the  only  form  of  pains  and 
penalties  in  vogue  at  the  Hospital.  The  most  serious  in  its 
consequences  was  expulsion,  and  this  seems  to  have  been 
seldom  resorted  to,  for  the  good  Governors  had  no  mind 
to  ease  them  of  their  responsibilities  in  this  way.  Most  of 
those  who  incurred  it  expelled  themselves.  They  ran  away 
and  never  returned.  At  the  end  of  some  months  it  was 
noted  that  they  were  absent,  and  their  names  were  taken  off 
the  books.  If  sentence  of  banishment  was  passed,  some 
* J.  I.  Wilson,  Christ’s  Hospital , ed.  1821,  p.  197. 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


259 


prominent  Governor  would  often  come  forward  and  ask  for 
lenient  consideration,  as  Sir  Francis  Child  did  in  behalf  of 
two  truants  (“  Mathemats,”  as  usual)  in  1710.  Thereupon 
they  compounded  for  their  offence  by  undergoing  what  was 
technically  called  “ the  correction  of  the  House  ” ; that  is  to 
say,  a beadle  publicly  birched  them  round  the  Hall,  to  give 
the  others  an  appetite  for  their  meal.  Those  who  went  into 
exile  were  always  provided  with  a suit  of  “ towny  ” clothes, 
with  the  natural  exception  of  a boy  whose  father  wrote  to 
the  Committee  in  1704.  This  boy  had  absented  himself 
for  “severall  months,”  and  the  father  calmly  asked  that  a 
suit  of  clothes  might  be  provided  for  his  son  as  he  could 
not  afford  to  buy  any.  Naturally  the  Committee  decided 
not  to  “ show  him  any  countenance  or  favour  whatsoever.” 
But,  as  they  were  too  zealous  of  their  charge  to  resort  to 
expulsion  with  any  frequency,  it  was  necessary  to  have  other 
terrors  in  order  to  keep  the  young  people  within  the  bounds 
both  of  the  Hospital  and  of  propriety.  Thus  in  1714  it  was 
acknowledged  that  “ the  usual  correction  ” was  not  effective, 
and  the  Governors  resorted  in  the  first  instance  to  an  attack 
on  the  offenders’  dignity.  In  future  “every  boy  running 
away  should  be  set  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Table  in  the 
Hall  to  which  he  belongs  for  the  space  of  three  months  & 
soe  toties  quoties  as  he  shall  comitt  the  like  fault.”  But 
clearly  the  truants  were  not  deterred  by  the  unwonted 
Latinity  of  the  Counting  House ; for  it  was  laid  down  only 
four  months  later  (January  1715)  that  for  the  first  “chasing” 
a boy  “shall  be  put  into  the  Dungeon  there  to  remain 
three  days  and  three  nights  and  be  fed  with  Bread  and 
Water  and  for  the  second  offence  to  be  expelled  this  House.” 
On  another  occasion  the  punishment  inflicted  was  that  of 
being  “ confined  three  days  in  Easter  week  [when  no  work 
was  done]  and  afterwards  sweep  the  Hall  for  a week.”  But 
there  were  physical  expedients  of  a more  stringent  charac- 
ter. “ Mathemats  ” who  without  leave  have  “ walked  down 
the  Keys  or  wharfs  by  the  River  ” are  “ cohered  during  Mr 
Treasurers  pleasure”  (September  1719).  Another  “ Mathe- 
mat,”  who  “ got  notoriously  drunk  ” when  his  school  made 


260  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

its  annual  appearance  before  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty, 
has  to  “ wear  the  collar,”  and  when  the  collar  is  taken  off,  he 
is  banished  to  the  Writing  School,  presumably  to  have  some 
practical  instruction  on  the  Temperance  question.  Two 
youths  (I  grieve  to  repeat  that  they  also  were  “ Mathemats  ”) 
“ had  behaved  themselves  insolently  in  the  great  Hall  to  Mr 
Steward  ” on  Friday,  May  ioth,  1728,  and  they  were  ordered 
to  “ wear  the  Clog  and  Collar  till  Wednesday  morning  next” 
This  apparently  Chinese  punishment  must  be  interpreted  in 
the  light  of  what  happened  to  two  who  had  stolen  a tart 
from  “ a Pastery  Cooks  Shop  in  Blow  Bladder  Street”  They 
must  be  “ severely  whipt  and  wear  the  Collar  for  a week  ” 
(November  1725),  but  one  of  them,  who  was  “seduced”  to 
the  doing  of  this  dreadful  deed,  had  “ his  Clogg  taken  off.” 
In  the  same  way  two  Hertford  boys  who  had  run  away 
and  been  conveyed  by  some  good  soul  to  Newgate  Street 
(March  1733)  “were  sent. back  to  Hertford  with  their  Cloggs 
and  Collars  on.” 

But  the  Governors,  like  many  public  school  authorities 
in  our  own  day,  were  determined  to  give  every  chance  to 
moral  expedients.  This  is  comically  illustrated  in  an  order 
of  August,  1728,  which  was  drawn  up  with  a wealth  of 
words  implying  the  presence  of  a solicitor’s  clerk  in 
the  Counting  House.  The  first  offence  whether  of  “the 
Royall  Mathematicall  Boys  ” or  of  the  rest,  is  to  have  its 
“reasonable  punishment”  at  the  hands  of  the  master  or 
the  Steward.  In  case  of  a second  transgression  “he  or 
they  ” shall  “ not  be  imployed  as  Monitor  or  Monitors  ” ; 
shall  be  degraded  from  “his  or  their  seat  or  place”  in  Hall 
“to  the  lower  end  of  the  said  Table”;  and  “shall  at  every 
meal,  Breakfast  Dinner  and  Supper,”  before  going  to  the 
lowest  room  now  assigned  to  them,  “goe  orderly  and  of 
his  or  their  own  accord  to  the  place  in  the  said  Hall 
comonly  called  the  Stone  and  after  Grace  said  then  and 
there  in  most  humble  and  submissive  manner  on  his  or 
their  knees  publickly  and  audibly  say  and  Repeat  such  form 
of  Prayer  or  Declaration”  as  the  Almoners  shall  appoint. 
The  criminals  shall  then  rise  and  “ask  pardon  of  all  then 


THE  PULPIT  IN  THE  HALL 

FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  REV.  D.  F.  HEYWOOL 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


261 


present  whom  they  have  offended  and  of  the  children  for  the 
ill  example”  given  them.  The  Almoners  within  a week 
were  ready  with  a stupendous  form  of  Recantation  which 
deserves  to  be  rescued  from  the  obscurity  of  the  Minute- 
Book  : — 

‘ I . . . having  in  more  instances  than  one  offended 
against  the  Discipline  of  this  House,  and  being  now  made 
sensible  of  my  Misbehaviour,  by  which  I have  rendered 
myself  obnoxious  to  the  just  censure  of  my  Superiors ; and 
out  of  a great  abhorrence  of  those  crimes  I doe  acknow- 
ledge openly  and  confess,  that  I,  being  over  ruled  by  a 
disobedient  and  obstinate  spirit,  have  resisted  that  authority, 
which  I ought,  as  oblig’d  by  the  good  and  laudable  and 
established  Orders  of  this  House,  to  have  submitted  to. 
For  which  and  all  other  my  late  Follies  and  Misdemeanours, 
I declare  myself  sincerely  penitent,  and  in  the  first  place 
do  humbly  ask  Pardon  of  my  Maker,  whom  I have  highly 
offended,  and  of  the  Worshipful  the  Governors  ; and  sub- 
missively ask  pardon  of  my  Masters  and  all  officers  whom 
I have  affronted,  & of  my  schoolfellows  to  whom  I have 
sett  a scandalous  example,  hoping  by  this  hearty  sub- 
mission and  Recantation  that  I may  in  some  measure  recover 
the  esteem  of  those  whom  I have  anyways  injured,  resolv- 
ing by  the  assistance  of  the  Divine  Grace,  so  to  behave 
myself  for  the  future  time  of  my  continuance  here,  as  not 
to  do  anything  that  may  give  offence  or  be  of  bad  example 
to  my  Schoolfellows.’ 

This  appalling  deliverance  was  to  be  at  once  read  out 
to  all  the  children  in  the  Great  Hall  “ by  the  present  boy 
who  reads  in  the  Pulpit,”  and  was  afterwards  to  be  regularly 
recited  as  a sort  of  bugbear  to  intending  malefactors.  More- 
over, there  is  no  doubt  that  for  years  the  various  criminals  in 
the  school  had  to  go  to  “ the  Stone  ” and  repeat  it  on  their 
knees;  for  instance,  “a  boy  who  has  twice  run  away”  (July 
l7 32)>  Paul  Wright,  aforesaid,  (March  1735),  and  six 
“ Mathemats  ” who  had  been  “ tendring  their  Silver  Badges 
to  sale  (October  1735)-  Unfortunately,  it  is  hard  to  see 
how  the  confession,  being  couched  in  verbiage  which  even 
Paul  Wright  would  have  to  stop  and  think  about,  can  have 
been  anything  but  a not  very  solemn  farce,  while  its  effect  on 
the  rest  of  the  School  would  be  dissipated  by  the  fact  that 


262  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


their  meal  was  served  so  many  minutes  later  than  usual. 
There  is  much  more  common  sense  in  the  proceedings  of 
a number  of  Governors  who  had  met  at  “the  New  England 
Coffee  House”  to  make  rules  for  the  prevention  of  so  much 
running  out  of  bounds.  Their  expedients  involve  a good 
deal  of  responsibility  being  laid  on  Monitors.  Before  the 
conclusion  of  each  meal  the  Steward  is  to  send  Monitors 
to  each  gate,  who  are  to  take  down  the  names  of  any  boy 
going  out  without  a ticket,  but  are  not  told  to  stop  him  ! In 
the  same  fashion  the  Beadles  are  told  to  “ attend  at  the  top 
of  the  Gallery-Stairs  in  Church-Time  to  see  that  the  Children 
who  go  down  return,”  whereas  it  would  have  been  more 
effective  if  the  Beadles  had  been  posted  at  the  bottom  of  the 
stairs  or  at  the  Church  doors.  The  children  are  to  sit  in 
Hall  in  order  of  seniority,  and  each  is  to  give  notice  to  the 
Steward  “of  his  next  fellow  that  is  absent.”  A more 
sensible  practice  which  survives  to  this  present  is  laid  down 
in  the  direction  that  “ every  night,  as  soon  as  the  Children 
are  called  over  by  their  names  and  begin  Duty  \i.e.  evening 
prayers]  in  their  severall  wards,”  the  door  is  to  be  locked  and 
absentees  are  to  be  reported  in  the  morning.  Any  such 
absentees  are  to  be  punished,  “and,  if  that  Dont  answer, 
then  to  bring  them  before  the  next  Committee.”  I am 
afraid  it  turned  out  that  neither  the  bringing  before  the 
Committee  nor  the  “ Publick  Recantation  ” seemed  to 
“answer”;  for  in  April  1739  there  is  again  a reference  to 
the  “ Scandalous  liberty  taken  by  the  Children  in  Running 
out  of  Bounds  on  Sundays  and  other  Days  and  thereby 
Absenting  themselves  from  Church  and  the  Hall.”  So  much 
so,  that  early  in  the  following  year  two  further  expedients 
were  resolved  upon  by  the  genial  Inquisition  of  the  Court 
Room.  The  first  order  was  “ that  a Post  be  affixed  up  in  the 
Great  Hall  of  this  Hospital  for  the  more  exemplary  correc- 
tion of  such  Children  who  shall  hereafter  be  guilty  of  very 
Hainous  Crimes  ” ; secondly,  that,  “ to  deter  them  from  com- 
mitting any  Notorious  Crimes,  the  antient  order  of  Punish- 
ment by  Whiping  (sic)  the  Children  on  their  Naked  Backs 
Round  the  Hall  be  for  the  future  revived  and  put  in  Prac- 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


263 


tice.”  Sad  to  relate,  a Beadle  was  guilty  of  “ disclosing  to 
the  children”  these  stern  resolutions,  “whereby  they  run 
away  to  prevent  such  punishment  ” ; but  the  Committee 
soon  secured  a corpus  vile  in  the  shape  of  a “ Mathemat, 
who  “has  sold  his  badge  for  Five  shillings  and  with  part 
of  the  Money  bought  a Horse  Pistoll  which  he  charged 
with  a Bullet  and  shott  through  the  door  of  his  Nurses 
Room.” 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  boys  were 
rigidly  restricted  all  the  year  round  to  the  confines  of  the 
Hospital.  All  that  was  required  at  any  time  was  that  they 
should  get  leave  from  the  Catechiser  or  the  Steward. 
Arrangements  were  also  made  for  their  going  out  for 
walks.  As  early  as  1678  the  Catechiser  received  directions 
“ that  upon  any  holy  day  he  permitt  but  one  ward  of  boyes 
to  goe  forth  and  that  they  bee  injoyned  to  goe  to  Islington 
Fields  and  that  one  of  the  Beadles  shall  goe  forth  with  the 
Children  to  take  notice  of  their  Behauiour.”  In  the  same 
way  the  “ guirles  ” were  to  “ goe  halfe  att  one  time  and  halfe 
att  another  on  Holy  Days.”  Clearly  the  Committee  of  1721 
at  “the  New  England  Coffee  House”  was  prepared  to  give 
plenty  of  “leave,”  for  it  recommended  that  five  or  six  hundred 
“new  ticketts  be  struck  on  Copper  or  Brass”  with  “a  whole 
(sic)  through  the  rims  for  string  to  prevent  their  loosing 
them.”  The  probability  is  that  the  boys  had  too  much  “leave” 
rather  than  too  little,  for  it  is  hard  to  account  in  any  other  way 
for  penalties  being  threatened  to  any  boy  who  “ shall  at  any 
time  be  found  drinking  at  any  Alehouse,”  or  for  the — 
probably  by  no  means  unwelcome — injunction  to  the  Beadles 
to  patrol  the  neighbouring  Alehouses  or  “ any  other  they 
shall  suspect  any  of  the  boys  may  frequent.” 

Before  this  chapter  can  pass  on  to  modern  times,  it  is 
necessary  to  give  some  account  of  the  ancient  office  of 
Steward.  This  personage  has  been  mentioned  more  than 
once  in  connexion  with  the  discipline  of  the  school,  and  up 
to  about  i860  he  had  independent  charge  of  the  boys  out  of 
school  hours,  being  responsible  only  to  the  Committee.  He  had 
to  preside  at  their  meals  and  see  to  their  personal  neatness. 


264  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


He  assigned  them  to  their  wards  and  appointed  monitors, 
though  apparently  with  some  reference  to  the  Upper  Grammar 
Master.  He  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  Beadles,  and 
regulated  the  system  on  which  the  youths  had  leave  to  go  out. 
It  was  his  business  to  be  present  at  the  services  which  they 
attended  in  Christ  Church,  where,  says  Trollope,  “their 
deportment  is  closely  watched,  and  any  indecent  or  un- 
devout  conduct  is  reprimanded  or  punished.”  In  addition 
to  his  duties  as  a disciplinarian  the  Steward  was  the  com- 
missariat officer.  In  the  year  i860  came  an  important  change. 
The  Steward  was  then  left  to  the  duties  appropriate  to  his 
name,  and  to  the  care  of  the  clothing  department,  his  re- 
sponsibilities for  keeping  order  out  of  school  passing  to  a 
new  official  entitled  the  Warden.  At  first  the  Warden  was 
independent  of  the  Head  Master,  he  was  generally  a retired 
military  officer,  and  the  result  was  to  set  up  a sort  of  dual 
control.  His  very  title  caused  misunderstandings,  and  for 
every  outsider  who  took  him  for  a drill-serjeant  there  was 
probably  another  who  believed  him  to  be  Head  Master. 
Since  1876  the  Warden  has  been  entirely  subordinate  to 
the  Head  Master;  but  even  so,  and  well  as  the  system  has 
worked,  it  is  not  satisfactory  that  boys  should  be  responsible 
out  of  school  to  an  official  who  cannot  control  them  during 
school-hours,  or  that  during  school-hours  they  should  be 
under  an  authority  which  has  no  powers  out  of  school. 

Modern  times  have  seen  great  changes  both  in  “leave”  and 
in  holidays.  In  Trollope’s  day  alternate  Wednesdays  were 
“ whole-leave-days  ” for  everyone,  besides  the  many  occa- 
sional days,  such  as  Founder’s  Day,  the  Sovereign’s  and  the 
President’s  birthdays,  King  Charles’  Martyrdom,  King  Charles 
II.’s  Restoration,  the  Great  Fire  Day  (September  2nd),  Gun- 
powder Plot  Day,  Lord  Mayor’s  Day,  the  Accession  Day  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  and  many  holy-days.  In  fact  there  were 
some  forty  whole  holidays  in  addition  to  the  alternate 
Wednesdays.  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  were  half-holidays, 
when  special  leave  was  granted  to  the  boys  to  go  out  after 
their  midday  meal.  On  the  other  hand,  the  vacations  were 
still  short,— eleven  days  at  Easter  (when  comparatively  few 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL 


265 


boys  went  home),  four  weeks  in  the  summer,  and  fifteen  days 
at  Christmas.  But  the  Commissioners  of  1837  found  that 
the  occasional  holidays  were  considerably  cut  down  and  the 
vacations  extended,  and  in  recent  years  there  has  been 
further  progress  in  this  direction. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  add  that  the  factious  interference  of 
the  Committee  with  games  is  a thing  of  the  past.  True, 
there  is  little  possibility  of  any  but  rather  hazardous  athletics 
on  an  asphalte  pavement.  But  the  great  generosity  of  the 
present  Treasurer  and  his  predecessor,  Mr.  J.  D.  Allcroft, 
has  provided  a ground  in  the  suburbs,  and  for  many  years 
the  Christ’s  Hospital  Cricket  Club  and  the  Christ’s  Hospital 
Football  Club  have  sent  out  their  challenges  and  acquitted 
themselves  as  well  as  their  limited  opportunities  for  practice 
would  permit.  Grecians  and  Deputy  Grecians  have  found 
in  the  Christ’s  Hospital  Rowing  Club,  which  in  its  essence 
existed  far  back  in  the  nineteenth  century,  a means  of 
preparing  themselves  for  college  contests  at  the  Universities, 
though  there  it  has  generally  been  found  that,  however  good 
their  “form,”  they  are  lacking  in  weight.  The  annals  of 
the  University  Boat  Race  do  not  therefore  make  the  Christ’s 
Hospital  “ Blues  ” famous  among  “ Blues  ” of  another  sort. 
The  last  twenty  years  have  also  seen  systematic  gymnasium 
instruction  provided  for  the  whole  school  on  the  site  of  the 
old  Giltspur  Street  “ Compter.” 

All  this  activity  out  of  school  hours  has  told  immeasurably 
upon  the  discipline  of  the  place.  The  violence  of  the 
“ Mathemats  ” and  the  occasional  bullying  by  the  bigger 
fellows  have  disappeared.  The  Beadle,  the  official  casti- 
gator  of  old  times,  holds  in  that  respect  a comparative 
sinecure.  And,  in  a similar  connexion,  the  cane  has  prac- 
tically vanished  from  the  class-room.  The  evidence  before 
the  Commissioners  of  1837  “led  to  the  conviction  that  some 
reformation  was  needed  in  this  matter,”  and  they  noted  that 
regulations  had  already  been  introduced  “ which  we  trust  will 
effectually  guard  against  any  future  abuse.”  But  many  a 
“Blue,”  whose  time  fell  during  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  will  smile  at  the  Commissioners’  innocent 


266  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


confidence,  and  the  present  Head  Master  could  unfold  a tale 
of  the  difficulties  he  has  had  in  bringing  about  a state  of 
things  in  which  a thrashing  under  any  circumstances  either 
in  school  or  out  of  school  is  a nine  days’  wonder.  In  the 
words  quoted  elsewhere,  the  staff  has  learnt  to  enforce  obedi- 
ence “ more  by  shame  than  smart.” 


CHAPTER  XV. 


AFTER  SCHOOL 

“So  I put  on  my  coat  and  waistcoat,  and,  what  was  stranger,  my  hat.” 

Leigh  Hunt. 

I T is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  give  a detailed  list, 
still  less  the  biographies,  of  all  the  distinguished  sons  of 
Christ’s  Hospital.  Such  a list,  admirable  as  it  might  be, 
would  provoke  comparisons  which  would  not  be  wholly 
favourable  to  our  Foundation,  especially  if  the  reader  does 
not  stop  to  consider  that  a “ Blue,”  when  he  starts  in  life, 
has  in  almost  every  case  neither  money  nor  influence  at  his 
back.  His  old  nursing-mother  in  Newgate  Street  has  done 
all  she  can  to  fit  him  for  the  battle,  but  she  cannot  fight  it 
for  him,  and,  if  he  had  a posse  of  wealthy  and  influential 
friends,  he  could  have  had  no  right  to  receive  her  nursing. 

It  is  the  more  unnecessary  to  give  any  list  of  famous 
Christ’s  Hospital  scholars,  as  a record  has  been  prepared 
with  infinite  pains  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Lockhart,  the  present 
Steward.  What  is  proposed  as  the  subject  of  this  chapter 
is  the  system  by  which  “Blues”  were  sent  to  the  Universities, 
or  otherwise  started  in  life,  rather  than  the  individual  results 
of  the  system.  It  should  be  understood  that  when  the 
Plospital  took  charge  of  a child,  it  considered  itself  (certainly 
till  one  hundred  years  ago)  responsible  not  only  for  its  educa- 
tion but  also  for  giving  it  a fair  start  in  life.  The  boy  or 
girl  on  entering  the  school  passed  from  the  parental  control. 
During  the  years  they  were  on  the  foundation  the  children 
never  slept  at  home.  They  were  fed  and  clothed  both  physi- 
cally and  intellectually,  and  the  ingenuity  of  parents  must  have 
been  taxed  to  find  any  “extras”  to  provide.  We  have  seen 

267 


268  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


that  the  children  fell  naturally  into  two  classes,  the  clever 
and  the  not-clever.  The  latter  were  apprenticed,  and  the 
former  were  prepared  for  the  Universities.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  earliest  register  of  names  is  lost,  and  the  personal 
history  of  our  exhibitioners  begins  with  the  year  1566.  At 
that  time  it  would  appear  that  the  sums  voted  for  their 
support  at  the  Universities  came  out  of  the  ordinary  funds 
of  the  Hospital,  and  were  sent,  as  they  are  to  this  day,  not 
to  the  student  but  to  his  tutor.  John  Prestman,  the  first  of 
this  long  line,  was  granted  “ xiid  weklie  ” while  at  Cambridge, 
and  when  he  migrated,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
to  the  sister  University,  the  grant  was  continued  on  condition 
that  “ his  tuter  or  gounor  of  the  house  wheare  he  is  shall 
wryte  to  this  corte  of  his  aptnes.”  The  Court  began  in  his 
case  (assuming  for  the  moment  that  he  was  the  first,  which 
is  by  no  means  likely)  a custom,  which  it  maintained  for  a 
couple  of  centuries,  of  making  a gift  (“5  mke”)  “towrds  his 
charge  and  aparell  in  pcedinge  Batchellar.”  And  Richard 
Coif  (1569)  is  worth  mentioning  as  having  received  in  common 
with  every  exhibitioner  to  this  day  “ soche  bookes  as  he  hath 
written  for.”  Indeed  so  keenly  did  the  Governors  feel  the 
need  of  going  ahead  with  this  part  of  their  work,  that  in 
1569  we  find  them  sending  the  Treasurer  and  three  of  their 
number  to  “ Mr  Secretorie  Cissell  ” to  “ moue  hym  touching 
the  prefermet  of  certaine  of  the  children  of  this  house  to  the 
vniusitie,  to  thintent  the  Quenes  pleasure  may  by  him  be 
knouen  therein.” 

No  doubt  their  difficulty  was  a financial  one,  and  those 
who  believed  most  heartily  in  the  future  of  the  Hospital 
soon  came  to  their  aid.  In  this,  as  in  other  good  works, 
Dame  Ramsey  was  among  the  first.  Thomas  Dixon,  in 
1574,  left  enough  to  send  one  scholar  to  Oxford,  but  Lady 
Ramsey’s  will  of  1599  gave  £>4®  a year  to  the  Master  of 
Peterhouse  to  be  laid  out  for  the  support  of  four  scholars 
and  of  two  fellows  to  be  elected  from  among  these  scholars. 
They  were  to  be  “the  sons  of  poor  men  of  the  Queen’s 
subjects  born  within  this  realm,  and  that  of  the  poorest  sort 
of  men  not  able  to  give  maintenance  to  such  children.” 


DAME  MARY  RAMSEY 

FKOM  AN  ENGRAVING  OF  THE  l'ORTKAIT  IN  THE  COURT  ROOM 


. 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


269 


Every  such  scholar  on  his  admission  had  to  swear  “ that  he 
had  not  only  a mind  and  intent  to  endeavour  himself  to 
learning,  but  also  that  his  purpose  was  to  enter  into  the 
ministry  of  God’s  holy  word,  and  become  a publisher  and 
preacher  of  the  same.”  And  every  such  fellow  was  obliged 
within  one  year  to  enter  into  holy  orders,  and  took  upon 
himself  the  not  inconsiderable  promise  that  he  would  “ in  all 
his  sermons  praise  God  for  the  godly  act  of  Lady  Ramsey 
done  to  his  church.”  For  some  reason,  the  responsibility 
for  which  the  College  and  the  Hospital  must  share  between 
them,  Lady  Ramsey’s  good  intentions  towards  the  Hospital 
have  not  been  carried  out,  as  the  following  figures  will  show. 
In  the  thirty  years  (1599-1629)  after  the  date  of  her  bequest, 
six,  or  possibly  seven,  boys  went  from  the  Hospital  to  Peter- 
house  on  the  good  lady’s  foundation.  But  in  the  250  years 
that  elapsed  between  1629  and  the  throwing  open  of  all  such 
scholarships,  only  six  “Blues”  were  elected  scholars  of  Peter- 
house,  of  whom  Jeremiah  Markland  was  one.  As  the 
Hospital  all  that  time  was  able  to  provide  students  for  other 
colleges,  the  reason  could  not  be  that  there  was  not  among 
the  children  “ brought  up  and  instructed  in  the  grammar 
school  there,  any  one  worthy  or  sufficient  to  be  elected.”  It 
would  appear  at  this  distance  that  it  was  the  obvious  duty  of 
the  Master  of  Peterhouse  to  send  to  the  Hospital  and  obtain 
his  pupils,  and  in  1663,  when  no  “Blue”  had  had  his  fair  share 
of  the  Lady  Ramsey  benefaction  for  thirty  years,  some 
members  of  the  School  Committee,  who  had  been  on  a visit 
to  Cambridge,  thought  that  the  Master  of  Peterhouse  ought 
to  be  looked  after,  to  see  whether  her  ladyship’s  will  “ hath 
been  p’formed  according  to  a deed  betweene  the  said 
Colledge  and  this  hospitall.”  But  it  was  not  till  1689  that 
they  took  the  question  up  seriously,  when  the  Treasurer 
announced  that  he  “ had  put  a stop  to  the  payment  of  £20,” 
being  the  Lady  Ramsey  gift  for  the  half-year,  “ for  that  he 
conceived  the  Master  and  ffellowes  of  the  said  colledge  did 
not  rightly  performe  the  said  gift  as  they  ought  to  doo.” 
He  was  therefore  asked  to  inquire  of  Dr.  Beaumont,  the 
Master,  “ the  names  of  the  ffellowes  and  scholars  enjoying 


270  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

the  Lady  Ramsey’s  exhibitions,”  and  to  make  sure  as  to 
“the  circumstances  of  their  Parents,  whether  they  be  knowne 
to  be  of  the  Lady  Ramsey’s  ffoundation,”  that  is,  pre- 
sumably, whether  they  were  in  need  of  assistance  towards 
their  sons’  education.  In  the  following  year  the  difference 
between  the  College  and  the  Hospital  became  more  acute, 
and  the  Master  and  fellows,  firm  believers  in  arbitration, 
suggested  a reference  to  two  lawyers  on  each  side.  Six  or 
eight  months  later  Mr.  Midgley,  a prominent  member  of  the 
Committee,  had  a personal  interview  with  the  Master  of 
Peterhouse,  who  said  that  the  Society  “ had  comply’d  with 
the  said  gift  as  much  as  in  them  lay.”  If  the  Hospital  still 
refused  payment  of  the  £40  a year,  “they  must  make  a 
distress  according  to  the  said  deed.”  Having,  however, 
received  an  assurance  from  Mr.  Midgley  that  he  would  get 
the  money  paid,  the  Master  condescended  to  account  for  the 
paucity  of  Christ’s  Hospital  boys  among  Dame  Ramsey’s 
scholars.  “It  was  a rule  in  their  House,”  he  said,  “none 
should  be  admitted  under  the  quality  of  a Pentioner  before 
the  said  gift  was  given  them,  but  that  if  the  Hospital  would 
send  one  of  their  children  and  allow  him  what  they  doe  at 
other  Colledges,  they  hoped  that  with  the  said  Lady’s  gift 
and  otherwise,  they  might  enable  him  to  support  a pentioner’s 
charge.”  Counsel’s  opinion  seems  to  have  been  against  the 
Hospital,  and  the  Treasurer  was  asked  to  “negotiate  the 
affaire  on  the  best  termes  he  can.”  But  it  may  be  permitted 
to  a Christ’s  Hospital  boy,  who  was  also  a scholar  of  Peter- 
house, to  express  the  opinion  that  the  College  had  no  busi- 
ness to  accept  a trust  for  the  benefit  of  poor  students  and  at 
the  same  time  to  make  such  arrangements  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  a poor  student  to  enter  at  the  College.  Most 
of  the  “ Blues  ” went  to  the  University  as  sizars.  The  pride 
of  Peterhouse  (it  has  long  since  been  humbled)  revolted  at 
the  very  idea. 

Fortunately,  at  the  very  time  (1688  and  the  following 
years)  when  the  Hospital  was  at  loggerheads  with  Peter- 
house, another  benefactor  of  poor  scholars  came  forward  in 
the  person  of  Mr.  Serjeant  Moses.  He  left  his  estate  equally 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


271 


between  Christ’s  Hospital  and  Pembroke  Hall,  Cambridge. 
The  half  devised  to  the  school  was  to  provide  exhibitions 
of  £10  a year  for  as  many  of  its  pupils  as  should  be  fit 
for  the  University,  and  the  other  moiety  was  to  found 
scholarships  at  Pembroke  to  which  “Blues”  were  to  “be 
entitled  before  any  other.”  The  bequest  is  interesting  as 
being  an  act  of  gratitude  for  mercies  received  at  Christ’s 
Hospital,  “ where  he  was  not  ashamed  to  own  that  he  had  his 
first  Education  and  the  groundwork  laid  of  such  future 
competences  and  comfortable  circumstances  as  he  had  en- 
joyed and  been  in  through  the  remaining  course  of  his  life.” 
William  Moses  had  been  admitted  to  the  School  “ from 
St.  Sauiors  in  Southwarke,”  and  proceeded  to  Pembroke  Hall 
in  1639.  He  was  elected  by  the  fellows  as  their  third 
Cromwellian  Master  in  1654,  suffering  the  inevitable  ejection 
in  1660.  But,  as  a Serjeant-at-Law  in  large  practice,  this 
did  not  affect  his  good  fortune  to  any  great  extent.  And, 
besides  its  personal  interest,  his  will  was  the  beginning  of 
a long  and  close  connexion  between  Pembroke  and  the 
Hospital.  From  1688  until  the  special  privileges  of  the 
“Blues”  at  the  College  were  abrogated,  more  than  one 
hundred  and  thirty  of  them  have  gone  to  Pembroke, 
including  Sir  Henry  Sumner  Maine,  Dr.  Haig-Brown  and 
the  present  Master  of  the  College.  Indeed  from  1718  to 
1788  it  was  quite  the  exception  for  our  students  to  go  any- 
where else. 

But  the  great  point  to  notice  is  that  the  Governors  con- 
sidered themselves  just  as  responsible  for  giving  a boy  a 
University  education,  if  he  wanted  it,  as  for  giving  another 
the  means  of  apprenticeship  to  a trade.  Thus  James 
Hewlett  (1661)  applied  for  this  privilege,  but  there  were  no 
exhibitions  vacant ; so  an  arrangement  was  made  “ that  for 
some  small  tyme  hee  should  dyett  with  Mr  Perkins  the 
Gramer  Schoole  Maister,”  and  he  was  to  be  provided 
with  “ a suite  and  cloake  and  other  necessarys.”  The  great 
Joshua  Barnes  (1671)  went  to  Emmanuel  College  with 
“ clothes,  bookes,  and  bedding,”  besides  an  ample  exhibition. 
In  due  time  he  won  a fellowship,  but  still  pleaded  that 


272  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

the  Governors  should  continue  his  exhibition,  as  the  fellow- 
ship “ affords  noe  more  than  a necessary  subsistence,  un- 
lesse  he  were  capable  of  taking  pupills,  wch  he  is  not  by 
reason  of  his  great  infirmity  of  deafnesse.”  In  fact,  he  con- 
tinued till  1687,  when  he  was  an  M.A.  of  eight  years’  standing, 
to  receive  gifts  “ for  his  incouragement.” 

It  must  be  confessed  that  some  of  the  young  gentlemen 
made  a poor  return  for  this  fatherly  care.  Take  the  case 
of  George  Cox,  of  Peterhouse,  who  thus  makes  his  petition 
(1667)  as  “ a distressed  orphan."  “ Your  petitioner  hath  been 
led  aside  by  the  instigacion  of  companions  and  by  the  per- 
verseness of  his  nature  hath  fell  into  severall  misdemeanors, 
soe  he  hopes  that  as  your  proper  vertue  is  clemency  you  will 
mercifully  consider  of  him  and  his  condicioun  upon  his 
promise  of  reformacion.”  But  the  Governors  had  no  faith 
in  his  “promise”  and  refused  to  help  him  any  further.  In 
another  instance  they  saw  reason  to  be  lenient.  “Wm 
Collins  of  Catherine  Hall,  Cambridge,”  had  got  into  debt 
both  there  and  in  London  to  the  amount  of  .£13  5^.  6d.  So 
two  of  the  Governors  were  desired  (September  1696)  to  go 
“to  Mr  Isaac  Newton,  the  Math:  Professor”  and  get  his 
advice.  “ Mr  Professor  Newton  was  pleased  to  give  an  extra- 
ordinary character  of  [Collins’]  proficiency  in  the  study  of  the 
Mathematicks  ” and  “ advised  that  the  said  Collins  should 
forthwith  returne  to  the  University.” 

The  case  that  gave  the  Court  most  trouble,  such  as  less 
generous  folk  would  not  have  taken,  was  that  of  Benjamin 
Lee.  He  had  been  sent  to  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  in  1692, 
where  the  first  difficulty  arose  through  the  extravagance  of 
his  Tutor.  The  Treasurer  heard  to  his  horror  that  Lee  and 
Billingsley,  who  went  with  him,  had  been  provided  with  “ such 
indecent  apparell  that  it’s  a shame  they  should  be  seen  in  it, 
it  being  too  Gay  and  fine  for  their  station.”  On  the  receipt 
of  this  serious  news  the  Committee  entrusted  the  Treasurer 
with  the  task  of  providing  “such  a suite  of  clothes  as  he  in 
his  discretion  shall  think  fit,”  desiring  the  extravagant  tutor 
to  “ lay  up  and  preserve  those  clothes  he  provided  until 
futher  order.”  After  this  the  Court  were  hardly  surprised 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


2 73 


to  learn  that  Lee  had  asked  his  tutor  for  “licence”  to  go 
home  and  “see  his  sick  mother,”  and  had  neither  gone  to 
see  her  nor  returned  to  Oxford.  Then  came  tidings  that 
he  was  “in  custody  in  Wood  Streete  Compter”  for  debt, 
and,  worse  still,  “was  not  yet  truely  sensible  of  his  past 
follyes.”  So  there  he  was  allowed  to  stay  from  November 
1693  to  the  following  April,  when  his  discharge  was  paid  for 
out  of  his  exhibition  “ on  the  best  termes  that  can  be,”  and 
he  “ gave  sincere  promises  of  Reformation  and  amendment 
of  his  past  life.”  Any  other  institution  would  now  have 
sent  him  about  his  business,  but  the  Court  still  felt  that  they 
stood  to  him  in  loco  parentis.  He  had  made  a poor  show  at 
Oxford.  Why  not  let  him  have  a fresh  start  at  Cambridge, 
where  perhaps  they  would  waive  the  usual  bene  discessit? 
Treasurer  Hawes,  who  wanted  “ to  inquire  into  the  behaviour 
of  the  other  students  there  that  went  from  this  Hospital,” 
offered  to  “see  the  said  Lee  settled”  at  Emmanuel  College. 
Ten  days  later  (May  1 8th,  1694)  the  poor  Treasurer  returned 
with  worse  tidings  than  ever.  “ On  ffryday  last  he  went  to 
Cambridge  to  see  Lee  settled  there  — And  on  Sunday 
whilst  he  was  there,  the  said  Lee  pict  up  some  of  the 
young  students  about  3 o’clock  in  the  afternoone  & went 
with  them  to  an  Alehouse,  and  when  he  came  home  to 
his  lodgings,  wch  was  about  ten  at  night,  was  very  drunk 
soe  that  the  Colledge  nor  himselfe  did  not  think  fit  to  con- 
tinue him  at  the  University,  having  committed  such  an 
egregious  fault  at  his  first  entrance.”  So  the  Treasurer 
“concluded  to  returne  him  to  London.”  And  still  they  ask 
what  is  to  be  done  with  him,  “ whether  to  have  him  sent 
to  Bridewell  or  how  else  to  dispose  of  him.”  Finally,  they 
“ thought  fit  (it  being  the  desire  of  the  said  Lee)  that  he  shall 
be  disposed  off  to  the  sea  imployment,  & be  bound  to  Mr. 
Stone  a mate  of  a ship  for  5 yeares.” 

After  such  longsuffering  as  this,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
“Blues”  at  the  Universities  got  into  the  way  of  appealing 
to  the  Governors  on  every  conceivable  occasion.  In  1694 
letters  came  from  two  of  them  at  Trinity  “who  therein 
desires  advice  whether  they  had  better  take  orders  or  not  ” ! 

T 


274  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


William  Collins,  already  mentioned,  came  to  London  on 
Isaac  Newton’s  invitation  in  1696  with  a view  to  a clerkship 
at  the  Mint.  But  Newton  failed  him  and  gave  the  post 
to  someone  else;  the  visit  to  town  ran  Collins  into  debts, 
which  were  discharged  out  of  the  Exhibition  Fund.  Or, 
having  got  what  advantage  they  could  at  Cambridge,  they 
sometimes  wanted  to  travel  on  the  Continent.  Mordecai 
Carey,  of  Trinity,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Clonfert,  brought 
a letter  to  Mountfort  from  Dr.  Bentley,  dated  “St  James’s 
Jan  30.  1708/9,”  in  which  the  Great  Master  urges  Carey’s 
appeal  for  aid.  “ I am  desired  by  Mr  Carey,”  he  said,  “ to 
recommend  to  you  his  request  for  permission  to  travel  abroad 
this  next  year  with  Mr  Jurin.  I am  intirely  of  that  opinion 
that  it’s  the  best  way  that  either  of  them  can  take  for  their 
improvement,  and  is  the  most  promising  step  towards  their 
rising  in  the  world.”  On  this  high  authority,  the  Governors 
granted  the  petitioner  a year’s  exhibition.  Not,  of  course, 
that  they  were  equally  complaisant  in  cases  where  the  need 
was  not  so  real.  Jurin,  of  whom  more  later,  and  Kinnesman, 
who  may  perhaps  be  identified  with  the  man  appointed  tutor 
to  Bentley’s  grandson,  Richard  Cumberland,*  applied  “ to 
have  some  money  beyond  their  yearly  allowance  to  buy 
bookes  ” ; but  they  were  reminded  that,  as  they  had  Scholar- 
ships at  Trinity  and  exhibitions  from  the  Hospital,  they  had 
better  “live  within  compass  and  provide  themselves  books 
out  of  their  yearly  incomb.”  Again,  Markland,  also  in  later 
years  the  friend  of  Bentley,  one  of  the  few  “ Blues  ’’  who 
squeezed  a Ramsey  scholarship  out  of  the  Master  and 
Fellows  of  Peterhouse,  sent  to  the  Court  in  1714  asking  for 
“an  allowance  of  thirteen  pounds  twelve  shillings  and  fifive 
pence  for  the  Cure  of  his  eyes,”  and  was  told  that  he  might 
expect  £10  if  he  furnished  further  details.  But  in  1717  he 
had  to  be  shown  that  he  must  not  abuse  the  Hospital’s 
generosity.  On  June  27th  he  received  ,£15  towards  the  cost 
of  his  M.A.  degree  and  on  July  12th  wrote  to  say  that  he 
would  be  glad  of  “some  allowance  with  regard  to  the  charge 
he  has  been  at  in  entring  upon  his  ffellowship  ” ! But  the 
* See  Jebb’s  Bentley , ed.  1882,  p.  201. 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


275 


Committee  would  have  none  of  this.  “ Finding  no  allowance 
of  that  kind  ever  yet  made  or  desired,”  they  refused  outright, 
in  order  “to  avoid  a presedent  of  so  ill  consequence.” 

But  if  the  Governors  made  themselves  responsible  for  the 
books  and  the  furniture  and  the  doctors’  bills  of  their  prottgts 
they  were  equally  grateful  at  any  success  they  achieved. 
James  Jurin,  scholar  of  Trinity,  who  afterwards  came  back  to 
the  near  neighbourhood  of  the  Hospital  in  his  capacity  of 
President  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  in  Warwick 
Lane,  was  elected  in  1708  to  a Trinity  fellowship,  and  the 
Governors  in  their  delight  could  not  refrain  from  writing 
to  Bentley  to  thank  him  “ for  his  kindness  to  our  lads  in 
general  and  more  particularly  for  this  remarkable  favour.” 
Bentley’s  answer  must  be  given  at  length.  He  was  just 
then  at  his  prime,  about  forty-six  years  of  age,  and  in  the 
ninth  year  of  his  Mastership.  Sir  Richard  Jebb  has  pointed 
out*  that  one  of  his  earliest  reforms  was  the  introduction  of 
written  papers  in  the  examination  for  fellowships  and  scholar- 
ships, so  that  merit  might  be  better  tested  than  it  had  been 
by  the  vivd  voce  method.  It  is  really  with  the  success  of 
this  scheme  that  this  letter  deals.  It  runs  as  follows : — 

‘Trinity  Coll:  October  11,  1708. 

‘ SIR, — I am  much  obliged  to  the  Governors  and  yourself 
for  your  kind  acknowledgment  of  the  justice  done  to  the 
scholars  of  your  House,  when  they  come  under  my  examina- 
tion for  our  College  Preferments.  There  is  nothing  of  favour 
or  partiality  to  them,  which  you  ought  to  thank  me  for.  Our 
statutes  forbid  all  that  and  I take  an  oath  every  election  to 
choose  the  most  worthy  without  favour  or  affection.  This 
evenness  and  impartiality  I have  hitherto  by  the  Help  of 
God  observed,  and  by  it  have  rais’d  the  Industry  and 
Learning  of  our  youth  to  a pitch  unknown  before.  And 
in  this  method  I resolve  to  continue ; so  that  when  you  hear 
that  any  of  your  foundation  have  succeeded  here,  you  may 
conclude  they  have  behaved  themselves  very  well ; but  if  any 
of  them  miss,  do  not  inferr  that  they  are  bad,  but  that  we  had 
others  that  were  better.  ’Tis  now  come  to  that  pass  in  our 
college  that  many  very  worthy  young  men  (considered  in 
themselves)  are  yearly  passed  by  here,  being  outdone  by 

* Bentley , ed.  1882,  p.  99. 


276  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


others  that  are  better  still.  A Scholarship  may  be  acquired 
here  with  competent  learning;  but  a ffellowship  requires 
extraordinary  merit  to  attain  it.  I must  recommend  there- 
fore Mr  Jurin  to  your  favour  as  a youth  of  very  great  hopes. 
By  my  advice  he  designs  to  spend  the  next  spring  and 
summer  in  Holland,  and  I allow  him  a travelling  ffellowship 
for  that  time  towards  his  support,  which  is  the  highest 
courtesy  our  House  can  show  him.  If  your  constitution  can 
add  anything  to  his  further  encouragement,  I dare  engage 
he’ll  make  a right  use  of  it ; and,  considering  him  now  as 
mine,  no  less  than  yours,  shall  owe  it  as  an  obligation 

‘ to  Your  very  humble  servant 
‘ Ri:  Bentley.’ 

Such  fatherly  care,  for  which  the  great  scholar’s  enemies  in 
the  college  gave  him  little  credit,  naturally  provoked  the 
generosity  of  the  Governors,  who  at  once  granted  Jurin 
£20  and  a year’s  exhibition.  At  the  end  of  his  tour,  the 
young  man  was  appointed  at  the  suggestion  of  Trinity 
College  to  the  Mastership  of  the  Grammar  School,  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne ; in  the  following  year  he  turned  his  attention  to 
medicine  and  died  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians. 
But,  in  the  case  of  most  of  their  exhibitioners,  the  Governors 
did  not  so  easily  get  rid  of  their  self-imposed  responsibility. 
Scholars,  then  as  now,  were  by  no  means  assured  of  a liveli- 
hood and  two  ways  of  assisting  them  were  open.  They 
could  be  appointed  to  the  staff  of  the  Hospital  as  vacancies 
occurred.  This  habit  seems  to  have  begun  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Thus  John  Vicars,  who  went  from  the 
Hospital  to  Queen’s  College,  Oxford,  about  1600  (the  exact 
date  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  books),  returned  later  as  Usher, 
and  only  ceased  from  violent  language  against  “Kings, 
bishops,  organs,  or  maypoles,”  when  he  was  safely  buried 
in  Christ  Church.  In  the  eighteenth  century  every  Under 
Grammar  Master  from  Samuel  Billingsley  to  Lancelot  Pepys 
Stephens  had  been  a Grecian  and  exhibitioner,  and  five  out 
of  the  seven  Upper  Grammar  Masters.  The  staff  was  con- 
siderably enlarged  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and  during 
that  period  some  forty  former  exhibitioners  have  come  back 
to  serve  it  as  assistant-masters,  while  among  the  six  Head 


THE  PORTER'S  LODGE,  EAST  SIDE 

FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BY  THE  REV.  D.  F.  HEYWOOD 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


277 


Masters  of  the  century  (A.  W.  Trollope,  John  Greenwood, 
Edward  Rice,  G.  A.  Jacob,  G.  C.  Bell,  and  Richard  Lee) 
Dr.  Jacob  alone  was  a stranger  to  the  Foundation. 

But  schoolmastering  was  not  considered  by  the  Governors 
to  be  an  altogether  adequate  provision  for  their  scholar 
“children.”  Even  in  1719,  the  best  post  they  could  offer, 
that  of  Upper  Grammar  Master,  carried  with  it  a stipend 
of  only  £120,  and  their  funds  allowed  little  in  the  way  of 
pensions.  Matthew  Audley,  the  ex-Grecian  who  was  ap- 
pointed at  this  salary,  succeeded  Mountfort,  and  the  latter 
had  stayed  at  his  post  when  “by  reason  of  age  and  infirmity” 
he  had  long  been  “rendered  uncapable  of  discharging  his 
trust”  (Comee  Book,  September  25th,  1719).  Some  members 
of  the  Committee  were  therefore  sent  to  ask  him  to  resign 
and  “ found  him  very  ill  abed.”  The  old  man  “ readily  com- 
plyed  ” with  their  suggestion,  hoping  to  receive  “ accompetent 
allowance,”  but  he  died  within  a week.  In  the  ordinary  way, 
however,  it  was  the  custom  to  pass  on  both  the  upper  and 
under  masters  to  the  various  livings  in  the  Hospital’s  gift,  and 
this,  it  should  be  noticed,  did  not  imply  that  the  Governors 
took  a mean  advantage  of  their  position  as  patrons.  Christ’s 
Hospital  scholars  have  had  two  outstanding  benefactors, 
Lady  Ramsey  and  Serjeant  Moses,  and  six  of  the  advowsons 
thus  used  were  due  to  these  two,  though  there  is  no  definite 
injunction  in  either  case  that  “ Blues  ” must  be  nominated. 
The  Governors  simply  made  up  their  minds  to  assign  them 
as  a provision  for  their  pupils.  For  instance,  the  vicarage 
of  Ugley,  near  Bishop’s  Stortford,  became  theirs  in  1599.  R 
was  offered  to  one  “Blue”  in  1606  (no  doubt  at  the  first 
avoidance)  and  to  another  in  1610,  and  has  mostly  been  held 
by  “ Blues  ” ever  since.  It  generally  served  as  the  first  step 
in  the  ladder  of  promotion,  the  top  rung  being  represented 
by  Gainscolne  (or  Colne  Engaine).  No  doubt  the  Governors’ 
preference  for  school  candidates  produced  a certain  prone- 
ness to  holy  orders.  Take  John  Parker’s  petition  of  1675. 
“Your  petitioner,”  he  says,  “being  come  to  Towne  upon  some 
businesse  of  his  owne,  was  certified  of  the  death  of  Dr 
Cornelius,  the  late  incumbent  of  your  benefice  of  Clavering. 


278  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Upon  this  your  petitioner  thought  that  a doore  was  opened 
to  him  by  divine  providence  to  enter  into  the  Ministrey 
(which  he  had  long  desired)  and  a very  promising  oppor- 
tunity offered  him  of  bettering  his  condition.”  He  brought 
testimonials  from  Cudworth,  Benjamin  Whichcote,  and 
Beaumont,  the  Master  of  Peterhouse,  and  he  obtained  his 
desire.  But  he  was  no  self-seeker,  for,  when  the  Governors 
offered  him  the  “ plum  ” of  their  patronage,  he  “ humbly 
returned  this  answere,  that  he  was  very  well  contented  with 
his  present  condicon.”  It  was  not  always  easy  for  them  to 
abide  by  their  rule  to  choose  “ Blues,”  for  they  often  had 
to  contend  against  influence  in  high  places.  The  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  the  favourite  of  the  early  Stuarts,  sent  a divine 
with  a letter  in  1626,  on  the  supposition  that  the  then  incum- 
bent of  Gainscolne  was  “very  aged  and  weake  of  body”  and 
“ not  likely  to  continue  long  with  life.”  He  would  be  glad 
if  they  would  promise  it  to  his  nominee.  But,  with  all  “ due 
and  weighty  consideracon  taken  of  the  earnest  desires  and 
requests  ” of  the  “ noble  peer,”  they  replied  that  they  in- 
tended to  present  to  the  living  “ a man  much  comended  and 
well  aprou’d  in  the  place  where  hee  serveth  (Ugley),  who  was 
brought  vp  in  this  house,  and  maintain’d  at  the  Vniversitie 
with  one  of  the  Exhibicons  of  the  said  Ladyes  (Ramsey’s) 
guift.” 

Still  there  were  certain  occasions  on  which  they  went 
outside  their  own  constituency  to  choose  a clergyman.  In 
1667  they  appointed  to  Gainscolne  a certain  “ Mr  Clement 
Sanckey,  rector  of  S.  Clement  Eastcheap.”  The  Essex 
parish  was  then  described  as  being  “ somewhat  more  troubled 
with  Nonconformists  then  other  parishes,  and  therefore  it 
would  be  much  to  the  honnour  of  this  house  to  send  an  able 
person  both  for  piety  and  learning.”  Perhaps  if  they  had 
asked  their  friend  “Esq:  Pepys”  they  would  have  chosen 
differently,  for  according  to  the  Diary * “Mr.  Sankey  of 
Magdalen”  was  a favourite  fellow-tippler  of  the  Secretary 
to  “My  Lords”  both  at  “the  Rose”  in  Cambridge  and  at 
« the  Fleece  in  Covent  Garden.”  As  a matter  of  fact  Sankey 

* See  Diary , July  15th,  August  3rd,  November  24th,  1661  ; April  2nd,  1662. 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


279 

utterly  neglected  his  country  parish.  He  was  appointed  to 
it  in  January  1667,  and  Pepys  ran  across  him  in  town  on 
April  5th.  “In  the  street  met  with  Mr  Sankey,  my  old 
acquaintance  at  Cambridge,  reckoned  a great  minister  here 
in  the  City,  and  by  Sir  Richard  Ford  particularly,  which  I 
wonder  at ; for,  methinks,  he  is  but  a mean  man.”  On  the 
whole,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  received  the  thanks  of  the  Court 
for  resigning  Gainscolne  in  1678.  On  another  occasion  the 
election  of  an  outsider  was  directly  due  to  the  “ frugal  mind  ” 
of  the  Court.  There  were  three  candidates  for  the  vicarage 
of  Ugley  in  1721,  of  whom  only  one  was  a “Blue,”  and  he 
in  the  natural  course  would  have  been  successful.  But  the 
Governors  were  in  a predicament  which  the  following  Minute 
will  explain.  The  “ Blue  ” was  interviewed  first,  and  “ he, 
with  a becoming  modesty  expressed  himself  in  these  and 
like  words : viz1,  Gentelmen,  I came  to  town  with  a great 
desire  to  obtain  the  viccaridge  of  Ugley,  and  should,  if  it 
had  pleased  your  Worp8  to  bestow  it  on  me,  thankfully  have 
received  the  favour,  But  since  here  is  a clergyman  who  is 
recomended  by  a person  who  hath  already  been  a great 
Benefactor  to  this  ffoundacon,  and  who  it  is  likely  will  be 
a greater  Benefactor  to  it,  if  you  desire  it,  Gentelmen,  I am 
willing  to  decline,  as  preferring  the  good  of  this  ffoundacon 
to  my  private  interest.  But  I humbly  hope  that  when  any- 
thing hereafter  happens  in  your  Worp8  gift  you  will  consider 
me.”  The  reason  for  their  being  so  “ extreamly  pleased  ” at 
Mr  Hancock’s  “ modesty  ” is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
Rev.  Ferdinand  Smythies,  fellow  of  Queens’  College,  Cam- 
bridge, the  benefactor  in  question,  had  “already  given  in 
present  and  at  his  death  Four  thousand  pounds  or  there- 
abouts to  this  Charity,  and  that  much  more  is  expected  from 
him.”  Hancock  received  a present  of  ten  guineas  on  the 
spot  and  the  rectory  of  Wormshill  later  in  the  year. 

The  account  of  the  funeral  on  November  1 8th,  1725,  of 
this  benevolent  old  don  is  not  quite  germane  to  the  matter 
before  us,  yet  it  is  worth  giving,  almost  as  it  stands,  from 
the  minutes  of  a Court  held  on  February  16th,  in  the  year 
following : — 


2 So  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

‘ Wee  set  out,’  say  the  Treasurer  and  his  two  colleagues,  ‘ to 
Cambridge  in  order  to  the  interrment  and  setling  the  affairs 
there  of  the  Reverend  Mr  fferdinand  Smithes  late  of  Queens 
College  in  the  University  aforesaid  decd  a Most  Benevolent 
and  Munificent  Benefactor  to  this  Hospitall  the  Treasurer 
whereof  for  the  time  being  he  had  made  Sole  Executor  of 
his  Will  and  who  by  the  account  made  up  for  that  purpose 
appears  to  have  given  unto  this  Hospitall  in  his  lifetime 
and  at  his  Death  the  sume  of  fifive  Thousand  pounds 
and  upwards  over  and  above  the  one  Thousand  pounds  of 
his  Will  directed  to  be  laid  out  for  the  Releife  of  Poor 
Prisoners  an  account  whereof  is  entered  in  the  Books  of  this 
Hospitall ; And  on  our  arrivall  at  Cambridge  on  Wednesday 
the  1 8th  following  in  the  evening  We  sent  for  Daniel  Moulson 
who  had  been  servant  to  the  said  Mr  Smythes  for  severall 
years  to  inform  ourselves  as  to  his  affairs  there  and  also  as 
to  the  nature  and  manner  of  funeralls  of  Persons  dyeing  in 
Colleges,  and  after  some  discourse  we  sent  him  to  the  Rev 
Dr  Davies  Vice  Chancellor  and  Master  of  the  said  College 
of  Queens  with  our  respects  to  him  and  to  know  when  he 
would  permitt  us  to  waite  on  him,  who  appointed  the  next 
morning  being  Thursday,  when  we  accordingly  waited  on 
him  and  acquainted  him  with  the  occasion  of  our  coming 
as  the  Hospitall  were  executors  and  residuary  legatees,  and 
then  shewed  him  the  originall  Will  which  he  Read  and  was 
well  satisfied  with  as  well  knowing  Mr  Smithies  handwriting, 
And  we  then  desired  him  to  advise  us  (being  strangers)  how 
to  act  as  to  the  manner  & ordering  of  the  ffuneral  ...  By 
his  direction  the  Corps  had  been  deposited  in  the  Grave  and 
as  afterwards  appeared  in  an  Elme  Coffin  covered  with  Black 
Cloth,  &c.  . . . Accordingly  we  went  to  our  lodging,  and 
gave  proper  directions  for  his  ffunerall,  determining  to  per- 
form the  ffunerall  ceremonies  that  Evening  at  Six  of  the 
Clock,  the  usuall  Houre  of  Prayers  in  the  said  College. 
About  which  time  Wee  repaired  to  the  said  College,  were 
we  were  introduced  to  the  Master  and  Fellows  in  their  Com- 
bination Parlour,  the  Schollars  of  the  Plouse  being  in  the 
College  Hall,  were  the  Hearse  covered  with  a velvet  Pall 
stood ; and  after  the  Master  & ffellows  were  all  served  with 
Scarfes  Hatbands  and  Gloves  And  the  Schollars  with  Gloves 
and  a Glass  of  Wine  each  We  proceeded  in  Procession  to 
the  Chappell,  were  we  had  the  usuall  prayers  and  the  office 
of  Buriall  was  performed  and  we  return’d  to  our  Lodging.’ 

Then  follows  a long  story  of  the  way  in  which  they  settled 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


281 


up  the  good  benefactor’s  affairs,  the  chief  trouble  being  that, 
like  some  other  benefactors,  his  charity  had  not  begun  at 
home,  for  his  rectory  house  at  Eversden  was  terribly  dilapi- 
dated. They  had  his  furniture  valued  and  disposed  of. 
But  “ the  books  of  Mr  Smythies  being  not  many  or  as  we 
apprehend  very  valluable  findeing  no  catalogue  nor  not  haveing 
time  to  make  one  Wee  brought  them  up  to  Town  for  proper 
inspection  of  persons  acquainted  therewith  and  the  rather  for 
that,  for  want  of  knowing  the  reall  Vallue,  we  apprehended 
ourselves  the  more  lyable  to  imposition  there.”  And  on 
their  return  to  London  the  will  and  codicil  were  proved 
“ in  comon  form.” 

One  other  point  must  be  put  on  record  in  justice  to  the 
worthy  citizens  who  administered  the  Hospital’s  patronage. 
From  very  early  days  they  made  a dead  set  against  pluralism 
and  non-residence.  In  1640  there  is  a black  mark  placed 
against  the  name  of  Dr.  Watts,  vicar  of  Clavering.  He 
“ doth  not  reside  but  giveth  a poore  Minister  to  performe  that 
office  and  letteth  the  Vicaridge  house  to  growe  to  decay  and 
a parte  thereof  already  fallen  and  more  like  to  fall  very 
shortly  to  the  ground.”  When  Dr.  Cornelius  of  the  same 
parish  died  in  1675,  they  expressed  their  sense  of  his  short- 
comings without  scruple.  He  “had  no  waies  performed  his 
promise  made  to  the  Court  att  his  Election  but  had  taken 
other  spirituall  promotion  and  neglected  his  duty  to  the 
parish.”  They  felt  not  only  the  loss  entailed  on  their  property 
through  his  neglect,  but  considered  that  it  “ very  much 
reflected  upon  the  honour  of  this  House,  haveing  noe  waies 
oblidged  him  under  hand  and  seale  to  the  contrary.”  There- 
fore, henceforward  they  made  every  presentee  give  a bond  to 
be  resident;  and  when  they  found  in  1720  that  Edmond 
Massey,  rector  of  Gainscolne,  “ has  taken  a house  and  wholly 
lives  in  town,”  they  promptly  summoned  him  to  “ shew  cause 
why  his  bond  should  not  be  put  in  suite  against  him.”  The 
Governors  in  their  zeal  certainly  appear  in  a better  light  than 
“ Mr  Archdeacon  of  Essex,”  who  is  mentioned  as  “ attending 
on  his  behalf.”  Alas!  in  this,  as  in  many  other  matters,  there 
was  a great  falling  off  during  the  eighteenth  century  and 


282  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth.  Grammar  Masters  were 
appointed  to  benefices  and  allowed  to  retain  their  place  on  the 
staff,  visiting  their  cures,  if  it  suited  them,  during  the  summer 
holidays.  Peter  Whalley  and  Dr.  Rice  were  both  vicars  of 
Horley  as  well  as  Upper  Grammer  Masters.  James  Boyer 
during  the  greater  part  of  his  reign  held,  first,  the  vicarage 
of  Enford,  Wilts,  and  then  that  of  Colne  Engaine,  the  richest 
in  the  Hospital’s  gift. 

But  it  would  not  be  fair  to  confine  this  chapter  to  the  after 
life  of  Exhibitioners.  The  careers  of  the  rest  claim  a word, 
for  the  rest  were  always  the  backbone  of  the  School.  The 
“ Mathemats  ” were  well  provided  for  in  ways  which  are  else- 
where explained.  What  of  the  ordinary  Writing  School  boy 
who  left  at  about  fifteen  years  of  age  ? Him  too,  as  well  as 
the  youths  at  the  Universities,  the  Governors  looked  after  as 
long  as  they  could.  They  apprenticed  him  to  a trade ; they 
worried  his  master  if  the  boy  was  not  properly  treated  ; they 
summoned  the  boy  to  their  presence  if  his  conduct  was  com- 
plained of.  And  it  is  a grievous  pity  that  to-day,  by  the 
falling  away  of  the  apprenticeship  system,  they  have  twice  as 
much  money  ear-marked  for  this  purpose  as  they  can  dispose 
of  in  any  given  year.  Sir  Martin  Bowes  would  turn  in  his 
grave  if  he  knew  it,  for  it  was  in  his  day  (December  1556) 
that  it  was  “ agreed  that  the  wardens  of  all  the  companies 
within  this  citie  shulde  be  sent  for  and  by  them  a request  be 
made  to  their  companies  that  so  manye  as  wanted  anye 
apprentices  that  they  wolde  take  of  the  biggest  sorte  of 
children  kept  by  the  charitie  of  the  citizens  which  are  not 
geuen  (given)  to  their  learnynge.”  It  is  needless  to  add  that 
many  of  these  supposed  dullards  who  were  appenticed  to 
City  merchants  brought  fame  and  benefactions  to  their  old 
school  in  after  life. 

Again,  the  expansion  of  England  gave  our  lads  a chance 
of  a useful  existence  beyond  the  seas.  As  early  as  1640 
it  was  clearly  necessary  to  put  a check  on  the  spirit  of 
adventure  showing  itself  within  the  walls,  for  it  was  then 
resolved  “that  there  shal  bee  noe  children  sent  to  new 
England  out  of  this  house  but  such  as  theire  parents  shall 


AFTER  SCHOOL 


283 

give  consent  for  and  discharge  the  house  of  them  before 
their  Transportacon.”  The  great  trading  companies  had 
a special  liking  for  our  boys.  The  “ Guyney  Company  ” 
expressed  “a  desire  to  take  3 of  the  children”  in  1677  “to 
place  in  their  Factory Readers  of  a recently  published 
history  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  of  which  the  present 
treasurer,  Mr.  Alderman  Walter  Vaughan  Morgan,  is,  most 
appropriately,  a director,  will  remember  that  David  Thomp- 
son, the  Company’s  famous  surveyor  and  astronomer  at  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  entered  its  service  from 
Christ’s  Hospital.  In  1698  a letter  was  read  to  the  Gover- 
nors from  “ Stephen  Gwyn  and  Richard  Grice  the  two 
Mathematicall  boyes  that  were  lately  sent  into  the  Czar  of 
Muscovy’s  service,  giving  an  acco‘  of  their  safe  arrivall  at 
Archangell  and  of  their  being  mightily  well  used  there  by 
Mr  Woolfe.”  Again  in  1721  came  “the  African  Company” 
with  a similar  request.  They  were  willing  “ to  bind  such 
[children]  as  they  shall  take  apprentices  to  the  Company  for 
five  years,  whom  they  will  send  out  to  their  settlements  in 
Affrica  where  they  shall  be  furnished  with  Cloths  and  Dyett 
during  their  Apprenticeship,  and  when  they  are  out  of  their 
time  to  be  preferred  according  to  their  Merits.”  To  this  also 
the  Governors  saw  no  objection,  provided  that  the  boys  and 
their  parents  were  willing.  But  the  chief  source  of  foreign 
service  for  our  boys  came  from  the  East  India  Company, 
who  were  long  the  Hospital’s  “tenants  at  a very  low  rate” 
(Committee  Book,  October  3rd,  1690),  at  Leadenhall.  The 
first  mention  I have  found  occurs  in  1668,  when  the  Company 
received  the  thanks  of  the  Governors  for  having  been 
“ pleased  to  take  off  from  the  charge  of  this  hospitall  eight 
children  to  be  employed  in  their  affaires  beyonnd  the  seas, 
and  had  att  great  charges  clothed  and  provided  necessaries 
for  the  sd  children’s  voyage.”  Nine  years  later  it  appears 
that  there  was  a hitch  somewhere.  The  Company  wanted 
“ half  a score  children  to  be  placed  in  their  factory  ” (August 
7th,  1677),  and  the  Writing  Master  was  accordingly  “desired 
to  take  all  possible  care  for  the  improvement  of  the  said 
children  in  their  writeing  and  Cyphering.”  In  a few  days 


284  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


Mr.  Treasurer  waited  on  the  Board  of  Directors  to  say  that 
“neare  half  a score”  were  ready.  But  the  Company  had 
meanwhile  changed  its  mind,  “ it  haveing  proved  somewhat 
inconvenient,”  but  “ did  desire  to  be  excused  from  acquaint- 
ing them  with  the  manner  thereof.”  At  the  same  time  the 
Board  offered  to  take  six  boys  to  go  as  clerks  with  ships’ 
captains  and  learn  navigation.  So  began  the  connexion 
between  the  “Mathemat”  and  the  Indian  Navy,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  both.  Once  more,  in  1695,  the  Company 
applied  for  boys  “ to  serve  [it]  as  writers  for  the  terme  of  7 
yeares,  four  of  them  to'  be  sent  to  Persia,  and  two  of  them  to 
Surratt,  and  the  rest  to  Fort  St.  George,  and  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  Council  have  orders  that  at  the  expiration  of  that 
terme  in  case  they  behave  themselves  well  in  the  Company’s 
service  That  they  be  admitted  to  the  Degree  of  Factors 
without  giving  any  security  besides  their  owne  Bonds.” 
Whereupon  it  was  announced  to  the  Company  that  “there 
hath  been  21  children  pitcht  upon”  as  being  “accomplisht 
with  Writing  and  Arithmetick.”  There  would  have  been 
more,  the  Governors  added,  but  that  “it  is  not  consistent 
with  the  Lawes  of  England  to  send  any  boyes  out  of  the 
land  ” without  their  own  and  their  parents’  consent. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  Hospital  has 
always  been  anxious  to  do  the  best  for  its  sons  at  home  or 
abroad,  whether  they  were  “ pregnant  and  apt  to  learninge  ” 
or  whether  their  bent  was  for  commerce.  To-day,  as  of  old, 
they  are  to  be  found  in  every  corner  of  the  world,  with  the 
love  of  the  Religious,  Royal,  and  Ancient  Foundation  fixed 
deep  in  their  hearts. 


FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  BV  THE  REV.  I).  F.  HEYWOOD 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


REFORM 

“ What  harm,  then,  if  in  the  heart  of  this  noble  city  there  should  be  left 
one  receptacle,  where  parents  of  rather  more  liberal  views,  but  whose  time- 
straitened  circumstances  do  not  admit  of  affording  their  children  that  better 
sort  of  education  which  they  themselves,  not  without  cost  to  their  parents,  have 
received,  may  without  cost  send  their  sons?” — Charles  Lamb. 

IT  will  have  been  gathered  from  references  in  the  foregoing 
chapters  that  Christ’s  Hospital  has  not  been  altogether  as 
other  schools  in  respect  of  the  machinery  by  which  it  was 
administered  ; but  it  will  be  well  to  devote  a word  or  two  to 
saying  what  the  machinery  was,  and  to  what  extent  it  has 
been  altered.  Dealing  for  the  moment  merely  with  the  Consti- 
tution as  it  existed  prior  to  the  Scheme  of  1891,  we  observe 
that  the  pivot  of  the  whole  system  is  the  “ Governor,”  and 
we  can  take  as  a view-point  in  the  middle  of  the  school’s 
career  the  year  1717,  when  the  managing  Committee  drew 
the  attention  of  the  Court  to  “ the  great  Increase  of  late  of 
Governors  for  this  House  whereby  the  Number  far  exceeds 
what  hath  been  heretofore  usuall  or  accustomed.”  The 
Court  at  once  acknowledged  the  seriousness  of  the  situa- 
tion by  a decree,  dated  July  2nd,  1717,  “that  no  person  or 
persons  shall  be  nominated  for  a Governor  of  this  House 
untill  after  Midsumer  next.”  The  elucidation  of  this  text 
involves  the  whole  history  of  the  management  of  the 
Hospital,  too  long  to  give  here,  except  in  a very  brief  review  ; 
the  reader  will  find  an  exhaustive  record  in  the  report  of  the 
Charity  Commissioners  of  1837. 

It  was  recorded  at  the  outset  that  Edward  VI.  vested 
the  Hospital,  along  with  the  other  similar  foundations,  in 

285 


286  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


the  Mayor  and  Commonalty  of  the  City  of  London,  a large 
body,  bound  to  delegate  its  powers  to  a smaller  one,  if  the 
management  was  to  be  effective.  This  led  to  the  scheme 
embodied  in  “ the  Ordinances  and  Rules  for  the  Governors 
of  the  Hospitalls  in  the  Citie  of  London,”  printed  in  1557, 
and  probably  by  that  time  already  in  operation.  In  this 
“ Order  ” the  Corporation  arranged  that  sixty-six  of  its 
number  should  be  allocated  to  the  management  of  these 
Hospitals,  of  whom  fourteen  were  to  be  aldermen,  and  of 
the  latter  six  were  to  be  “ graye  clokes  ” (who  had  passed  the 
chair),  and  eight  “ callabre.”  Of  the  fifty-two  commoners  it 
was  ordered  that  four  “be  scriveners  at  the  leaste.”  Two 
“ graye  clokes  ” were  given  the  offices  of  comptroller-general 
and  surveyor-general  to  the  four  Hospitals  together,  and  the 
remaining  twelve  aldermen  were  distributed,  three  to  each 
Hospital,  so  that  each  institution  had  a “ graye  cloke  ” as 
president,  with  thirteen  commoners,  of  whom  one  was  to  be 
Treasurer,  and,  apparently,  one  must  be  able  to  write.  The 
“ Order  ” added  certain  regulations  for  filling  vacancies,  in 
case  any  of  the  Governors  “ do  dye  within  the  year  (as  God 
defend).”  They  were  to  serve  for  two  years,  and  elections 
were  to  take  place  on  St.  Matthew’s  Day  at  a “ general  court.” 
With  certain  slight  exceptions  this  system  prevailed  till 
1564,  “ Governors  ” being  nominated  without  regard  to  any 
contributions  made  by  them  to  the  funds  of  the  Hospital. 
During  the  century  that  followed  up  to  1666  there  was  a 
quiet  but  gradual  alteration  of  the  process  of  electing  and 
maintaining  the  governing  body.  General  Courts  ceased  to 
be  held  for  this  express  purpose,  though  the  St.  Matthew’s 
Day  ceremony  of  handing  over  lists  of  all  the  Governors  of 
the  various  Hospitals  to  the  Lord  Mayor  for  safe  keeping 
among  the  civic  archives  remains  to  this  day.  But  they  did 
not  keep  with  anything  like  regularity  to  the  numbers  laid 
down  in  the  “Order”  of  1557,  and  proposals  for  filling 
vacancies  or  appointing  additional  Governors  were  made  as 
opportunity  arose.  It  is  merely  recorded  on  the  minutes  of 
the  ordinary  court-meetings  that  such  and  such  gentlemen 
received  their  charge  or  had  “ green  staves  ” sent  to  them. 


REFORM 


287 


In  1666  the  several  Treasurers  met  and  agreed  that  hence- 
forward each  Hospital  should  choose  its  own  Governors,  and, 
though  aldermen  and  common  councilmen  still  preponderated, 
it  became  the  custom  to  elect  gentlemen  and  send  them  the 
green  staff  of  office  out  of  regard  to  their  personal  fitness 
for  the  work.  In  this  way  Flamsteed,  the  astronomer-royal, 
Samuel  Pepys,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Sir  Jonas  Moore,  Surveyor- 
General  of  Ordnance,  and  other  prominent  persons  became 
members  of  the  Court  and  were  selected  by  the  Court  to  serve 
on  committees ; indeed,  after  a while  the  committees  began 
to  choose  the  Governors  on  behalf  of  the  Court,  to  which 
the  names  were  formally  submitted.  But  in  1699  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  City  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  the  management 
of  Christ’s  Hospital  was  slipping  out  of  their  hands,  and 
therefore  directed  the  Town  Clerk  to  write  to  the  Governors 
a letter  of  protest.  It  stated  that,  instead  of  the  Governors’ 
names  being  submitted  to  the  Corporation  for  approval,  “ a 
liberty  appears  to  have  been  for  many  years  exercised  of 
persons  being  (without  distinction)  elected,  admitted  to,  and 
continued  in  that  office,  in  the  name  indeed,  but  wholly  with- 
out the  privity,  much  less  confirmation,  of  the  said  court,  not 
only  to  the  raising  the  number  of  the  said  persons  to  a 
degree  greatly  exceeding  what  either  the  said  ancient  con- 
stitution, or  the  present  service  of  the  hospital  requires,  but 
to  the  exposing  the  same  to  the  worst  of  consequences 
attending  the  remissness,  improvidence,  and  tumultuousness 
of  management,  by  which  the  said  hospital  has  been  reduced 
to  the  state  of  indigence,  debt  and  disorder  under  which  it 
at  this  day  languishes.”  A sentence  of  such  portentous 
length  is  a not  uncommon  accompaniment  of  a weak  case. 
Any  change  that  had  come  over  the  government  of  the 
Hospital  had  done  so  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  Corporation. 
A committee  hardly  ever  met,  much  less  a Court,  at  which 
an  Alderman  and  some  commoners  were  not  present.  Be- 
sides it  is  clear  from  the  records  that  the  Corporation  very 
frequently  interfered  in  the  affairs  of  the  Royal  Hospitals. 
It  sealed  their  documents ; it  refused  or  accepted  their 
Governors  ; it  scrutinised  their  finances  ; it  summoned  whom 


288  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

it  would  to  attend  before  it.  No  one  thought  of  resisting 
its  will  till  the  year  in  which  the  letter  just  quoted  was 
written,  when  the  Governors  of  Christ’s  Hospital  first 
accepted  but  afterwards  declined  a vice-president,  whom 
the  Court  of  Aldermen  had  appointed  owing  to  the  infirmity 
of  the  then  President,  who  was  a member  of  their  own  body, 
Sir  John  Moore,  the  generous  builder  of  the  Writing  School. 

Further,  the  Royal  Hospitals  could  make  the  obvious 
answer  that  the  acceptance  by  the  City  of  the  Governors’ 
lists  each  St.  Matthew’s  Day  was  tantamount  to  an  expres- 
sion of  the  City’s  assent  to  the  names  there  mentioned. 
Anyhow,  after  a dispute  lasting  over  many  'months,  the 
Court  of  Aldermen  came  to  the  conclusion  that  each  Hospital 
might  elect  its  own  Governors,  subject  to  the  usual  presenta- 
tion of  the  lists  each  St.  Matthew’s  Day;  and  so  matters 
remained  till  1778,  when  the  civic  authorities  once  more 
began  to  agitate.  They  appointed  a special  committee  ; they 
refused  the  seal  to  any  lease  or  document  not  examined 
by  that  committee ; when  Christ’s  Hospital  sent  in  its 
nomination  of  a clergyman  to  the  benefice  of  Enford  to  be 
sealed,  they  refused  the  nomination  and  tried  to  appoint  a 
nominee  of  their  own.  So  the  Presidents  and  the  Treasurers 
of  the  Royal  Hospitals  had  to  take  counsel  together,  and 
the  result  was  a petition  to  the  Lord  Chancellor  as  visitor. 
It  set  forth  that  the  increase  of  their  governing  bodies  by  the 
nomination  of  “ noblemen  & gentlemen  & others  residing 
elsewhere  \i.e.  outside  the  City],  of  character  and  ability,  and 
likely  to  become  benefactors,  was  exceedingly  advantageous”; 
that  there  were  then  230  leases  of  property  duly  drawn  out 
and  waiting  to  be  sealed  at  the  Guildhall ; and  that  the  Court 
of  Common  Council  was  unfitted  to  replace  the  administration 
of  the  Hospital  by  Life-Governors  because  it  was  “so  numerous 
and  fluctuating  a body  that  if  they  should  be  Governors  the 
greatest  inconvenience  would  ensue.” 

So  we  come  to  the  Act  of  Parliament  (22  Geo.  iii.  1782, 
cap.  77)  which  embodied  certain  articles  of  agreement  arrived 
at  between  the  City  and  the  Governors  of  the  Royal  Hospitals. 
In  this  there  were  four  provisions:  (1)  for  the  presentation 


REFORM 


289 


of  the  lists  to  the  Lord  Mayor  every  September  21st,  as 
heretofore ; (2)  that  for  any  purposes  of  litigation  at  law  or 
in  equity,  etc.,  the  governing  body  of  each  hospital,  while 
bearing  the  costs  of  its  own  actions,  might  assume  the  title 
of  “ the  mayor  and  commonalty  as  governors  ” of  each 
hospital  ; (3)  that  the  seal  of  the  hospitals  should  be  kept 
at  the  office  of  the  City  Chamberlain  as  heretofore,  where 
documents  should  be  sealed  ; (4)  that  the  Court  of  Common 
Council  should  yearly  select,  at  the  first  meeting  after  St. 
Thomas’s  Day,  forty-eight  of  its  members  as  Governors  of 
the  Royal  Hospitals,  assigning  twelve  to  each. 

If  it  may  be  permitted  to  a citizen  living  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Corporation  to  criticise  its  action,  my  own 
impression  is  that  the  City  had  rather  forgotten  what  it  was 
that  gave  it  its  original  privileges.  The  early  history  of 
Christ’s  Hospital,  like  that  of  the  Grey  Friars,  is  a record 
of  the  “ devotio  civium.”  The  citizens  were  generous  donors 
to  the  funds,  and  only  received  their  due  share  of  authority. 
But  in  the  eighteeenth  century  all  that  was  forgotten.  True,  it 
is  not  clear  that  many  of  the  then  existing  Governors,  to  whose 
numbers  the  Corporation  objected,  were  also  benefactors. 
But  during  the  eighteenth  century  there  had  been  many 
instances  of  the  nomination  as  Governors  of  donors  of  £200, 
£500,  and  other  sums.  The  Commissioners  of  1837  were 
perfectly  justified  in  their  mild  insinuation,  that  in  the  City’s 
choice  of  its  forty-eight  ex  officio  representatives  on  these 
governing  bodies  “ no  indication  has  been  given  of  any  desire 
to  consult  the  advantage  of  the  institutions  at  any  personal 
sacrifice.”  Nor  is  it  beside  the  point  to  add  that  at  the 
present  moment  only  two  of  the  Aldermen  and  none  of  the 
Common  Council  Governors  have  given  qualifying  donations. 
They  are  content  with  their  ex  officio  position  on  the  govern- 
ing body. 

Indeed,  nothing  is  stranger  than  the  attack  which  has  been 
made  on  the  Donation  Governor  system  by  the  various 
commissions  of  inquiry  from  1837  onwards.  The  latter 
gentlemen  were  appalled  to  think  that  on  the  governing 
body  there  were  then  313  “ individuals  who  have  attained 
u 


29o  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

the  station  they  occupy,  simply  by  their  ability  to  spare 
^400.”  Assuming  the  Commissioners’  knowledge  that  in 
each  case  the  money  could  be  “spared,”  one  wonders  that 
it  did  not  occur  to  them  that  gentlemen  with  that  ability, 
and  still  less  gentlemen  ready  to  exercise  it,  are  not  to  be 
found  at  the  corner  of  every  street ; nor  that  their  parental 
interest  in  the  children  they  nominated  was  in  itself  a good 
start  in  life  for  an  otherwise  friendless  boy.  What  they 
resented  was  that  between  1800  and  1837,  when  they  com- 
pleted their  report,  no  less  than  466  gentlemen  qualified 
themselves  for  election  in  this  way,  and  that  many  of  them 
had  lived  long  enough  to  receive  more  than  “their  money’s 
worth”  in  the  way  of  presentations  of  children  to  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  the  foundation,  as  though  their  donation 
was  prompted  by  the  notion  that  they  had  discovered  a 
“soft  thing”  in  investments.  The  fact  that  as  a body  they 
were  too  large  to  form  an  effective  administration  was  easily 
met  by  the  selection  from  among  them  of  the  Council  of 
Almoners,  and,  when  the  whole  body  had  at  times  to  decide 
on  questions  of  school-government,  it  is  clear  that  its  decision 
was  guided,  if  not  by  exact  knowledge,  at  any  rate  by 
interest  in  the  well-being  of  the  proteges  whom  each  Governor 
had  placed  in  the  school. 

The  whole  question  would  not  be  worth  arguing,  if  fifty 
years  later  the  views  of  the  1837-8  investigators  had  not 
been  taken  up  and  pushed  to  a baleful  conclusion  by  the 
Charity  Commissioners  in  the  Scheme  which  they  promul- 
gated in  1885  and  put  into  execution  in  1891.  That  Scheme 
was  purely  and  simply  an  attack,  not  on  the  teaching,  which 
has  altered  little,  nor  on  the  staff,  which  has  changed  even 
less,  nor  on  the  diet,  which  has  passed  through  a normal 
development,  but  on  the  Donation  Governor.  It  attacked 
him  in  two  vital  particulars,  which  may  be  briefly  dealt  with 
separately.  First,  he  had  been  up  to  that  time  the  pivot 
of  the  administration.  His  donation  of  ^500  (for  that  is 
the  amount  which  had  long  taken  the  place  of  the  £400 
before  referred  to)  had  entitled  him  to  a seat  on  the  Court, 
and  the  Court  selected  the  Council  of  Almoners.  Against 


REFORM 


291 


this  Council  no  charges  of  maladministration  were  made. 
They  were  not  by  profession  educational  experts  committed 
to  educational  doctrines,  which  may  be  more  briefly  expressed 
as  “fads.”  But  they  had  a lively  interest  in  the  school, 
prompted  in  some  cases  by  gratitude  for  mercies  received,  and 
in  most  cases  by  the  possibility  of  mercies  which  they  could 
themselves  confer.  The  new  scheme  disposed  of  their  active 
interest  with  a stroke  of  the  pen  by  its  provision  for  the  future 
election  of  the  Council  of  Almoners.  Henceforth  this  body 
consists  of  forty-three  members,  of  whom  two,  the  President 
and  the  Lord  Mayor  for  the  time  being,  are  members  ex  officio , 
and  the  rest  are  nominated  on  the  following  system  : twenty 
by  the  “old”  Governors  (unless  the  “old”  Governors  fall 
below  two  hundred  in  number,  when  their  representation 
will  be  only  at  the  rate  of  one  for  every  ten);  six  by  the 
Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the  City ; six  by  the  London 
School  Board;  one  by  the  Education  Office;  one  by  the 
Admiralty ; two  each  by  the  Universities  of  Oxford,  Cam- 
bridge, and  London ; and  one  by  the  Royal  Society.  It 
would  be  absurd  as  well  as  ungracious  to  say  a word  against 
the  fitness  of  the  gentlemen  who  represent  these  various 
bodies ; their  names  carry  their  own  commendation  with 
them.  But  inasmuch  as  they  neither  “ present  ” children,  nor 
nominate  them  for  entrance  into  the  competitive  examina- 
tions, they  unquestionably  lack  that  direct  interest  in  the 
wellbeing  of  their  young  charges  which  is  felt  by  all  Donation 
Governors.  At  the  same  time  the  Donation  Governors,  if 
they  maintain  their  numbers,  are  always  liable  to  be  outvoted 
on  the  Council ; and,  if  they  do  not  maintain  their  present 
numbers,  their  influence  can  only  get  smaller  and  smaller. 

Nor  is  it  easy  to  exonerate  the  Charity  Commissioners 
from  a deliberate  attempt,  by  their  scheme  as  it  at  first 
prevailed,  to  crush  the  Donation  Governor  out  of  existence 
altogether ; which  brings  us  to  the  second  point  in  which 
they  attacked  him.  He  had  not  only  been  the  pivot  of 
administration,  but  also  the  channel  by  which  entrance  to 
the  benefits  of  the  Foundation  was  generally  to  be  obtained. 
Their  method  of  securing  this  was  threefold,  and  equally 


292  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


effective  in  each  case  : (i.)  they  reduced  his  rights  of  presenta- 
tion to  a minimum  ; (ii.)  they  introduced  a system  of  entrance 
by  competition  among  pupils  of  primary  and  secondary 
schools,  so  that  the  sharpest  children  take  the  place  by  force, 
and  the  weak  ones,  who  most  need  its  help,  go  to  the  wall ; 
(iii.)  they  ordained  that  the  parents  or  guardians  might,  if  the 
Council  of  Almoners  think  fit,  (which  they  generally  do), 
be  called  upon  to  pay  a sum  varying  from  £10  to  £ 20 
a year  for  a child’s  education.  The  last  two  have  effectually 
changed  Christ’s  Hospital  from  an  ancient  and  honourable 
charity,  and  “a  passing  dede  of  pittie,”  into  a semi-commercial 
institution,  to  which  a boy  claims  entrance  by  his  wits  and  in 
which  he  remains  by  virtue  of  a payment,  which  is  neverthe- 
less too  small  to  deserve  the  name.  Therefore,  though  in 
1896  the  Charity  Commissioners  saw  the  error  of  their  ways 
and  restored  to  the  Donation  Governor  a modicum  of  his 
former  rights  of  presentation,  they  cannot  be  surprised,  they 
may  even  be  secretly  contented,  that  the  elimination  of  any 
charitable  basis  from  the  present  constitution  has  effectually 
reduced  the  ancient  flood  of  “donations”  to  a hardly  per- 
ceptible trickle. 

So  much  for  “reform”  as  it  has  affected  the  Governing 
Body.  Public  attention  has  been  more  directed  to  the 
question  of  the  proper  site  for  the  Hospital.  Is  it  or  is  it  not 
a good  thing  to  leave  it  where  it  is  ? The  matter  apparently 
did  not  lie  within  the  reference  of  the  Commissioners  of 
1837,  but  it  was  considered  by  the  inquiry  of  1863,  when 
Mr.  Hare  was  bidden  to  see  “ whether  any  or  what  improve- 
ments might  be  made  in  the  management.”  Mr.  Hare, 
however,  was  soon  elbowed  out  by  the  “ Schools  Inquiry 
Commissioners”  of  1864,  a body  whose  names  carry  the 
greatest  possible  weight,  and  of  which  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  (Dr.  Temple)  is  the  only  surviving  member. 
Their  official  investigator,  Mr.  Fearon,  visited  the  Hospital  in 
the  early  months  of  1866  and  made  a masterly  report  of 
what  he  saw,  though  his  suggestions  for  the  future  use  of  the 
foundation  were  somewhat  wild  and  romantic.  But  his 
masters,  the  Commissioners,  took  little  notice  of  Mr.  Fearon’s 


REFORM 


293 


schemes.  They  recommended  that  the  School  at  Hertford 
should  be  given  up,  and  the  money  used  to  found  day-schools 
in  London ; but  they  were  also  of  opinion  that  Christ’s 
Hospital,  London,  should  “be  retained  on  its  present  site.” 
Still  nothing  was  done  as  the  result  either  of  this  or  the 
subsequent  Endowed  Schools  Commission,  except  that  every- 
one connected  with  the  Hospital  felt  a growing  sense  of 
helplessness  and  insecurity. 

At  last  came  the  definite  provision  of  the  Charity  Com- 
missioners in  their  scheme  of  1891  for  the  abandonment  of  the 
Newgate  Street  site,  in  which  they  were  no  doubt  influenced 
by  the  verdict  of  a special  Royal  Commission  to  inquire  into 
the  affairs  of  the  Hospital  at  a time  of  exceptional  trouble  in 
1877.  These  latter,  who  included  Dean  Liddell,  Mr.  W.  E. 
Forster,  and  Mr.  John  Walter  of  The  Times,  gave  it  as  their 
opinion  that  “ for  a thorough  reform  in  the  management  and 
discipline  of  Christ’s  Hospital  ” its  “ removal  from  London  is 
indispensable.”  Whether  Sir  Henry  Longley  and  his 
colleagues  were  influenced  by  this  verdict  or  not,  the  63rd 
clause  of  their  scheme  ordained  that  the  Hospital  Schools 
(by  which  they  mean  a boarding  school  for  boys  and  a 
boarding  school  for  girls)  “ shall  be  maintained  within  a 
convenient  distance  from  the  City  of  London  ” ; and  the 
result  has  been  the  selection  in  1892  of  a site  in  Sussex, 
whose  postal  address  will  be  “West  Horsham.”  Its  suit- 
ability or  otherwise  is  not  before  us  here,  but  is  “on  the  knees 
of  the  gods  ” ; it  must  suffice  to  say  that  those  who  know 
most  about  it  have  the  greatest  confidence  in  it.  What  is 
before  us  is  the  wisdom  or  unwisdom  of  removal  at  all. 

This  policy  of  removal  can  be  defended  on  various  grounds. 
There  is  the  valuable  nature  of  the  present  site,  though,  when 
it  is  at  last  sold,  it  is  doubtful  whether  much  of  the  price 
obtained  will  survive  after  the  purchase  of  a new  site,  the 
maintenance  of  it  for  seven  or  eight  years,  the  erection  on  it 
of  large  buildings,  and  the  promotion  of  a bill  in  Parliament 
to  facilitate  the  sale  of  the  old  site.  Again,  there  is  the 
question  of  health.  It  is  probable  that  a country  life  will 
improve  the  physique  and  stamina  of  the  “ Blues  ” ; it  can 


294  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


hardly  give  them  greater  immunity  from  epidemics  than  the 
comparative  freedom  they  have  long  had  at  Newgate  Street, 
while  the  decision  to  take  the  junior  school  to  West  Horsham 
only  increases  the  probability  of  trouble  in  this  direction. 
They  will  have  advantages  in  the  matter  of  games,  such  as 
Newgate  Street  can  never  give  them,  in  spite  of  the  generous 
action  of  the  present  Treasurer  in  providing  a suburban 
ground.  They  will  find  in  the  coming  regime  of  house- 
masters a system  infinitely  preferable  to  the  ward-life,  which, 
under  the  best  of  Wardens  and  the  most  efficient  of  matrons, 
could  never  be  worthy  of  a public  school.  There  will  also 
be  at  Horsham  an  end  to  the  unsettling  influence  of  half- 
holidays and  leave-days,  when  the  great  majority  of  the  boys 
have  turned  out  twice  a week  to  visit  their  friends,  and  a term 
at  Horsham  will  mean  thirteen  weeks  of  concentration  and 
devotion  to  the  united  interests  of  one  large  community. 
But,  looking  a little  further  ahead,  and  admitting  certain 
considerations  to  which  Charity  Commissioners  are  strangers, 
those  who  are  better  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  “ Blues  ” 
will  see  one  matter  in  which  the  majority  of  them  are  bound 
to  be  losers.  That  majority  looks  for  its  future  to  employment 
in  the  City.  Merchants  and  commercial  concerns  of  all  sorts 
have  long  made  a practice  of  sending  round  to  Newgate 
Street  when  there  is  a vacancy  on  their  staff,  and  at  most 
times  the  demand  for  “ Blues  ” is  greater  than  the  supply 
of  boys  ready  to  leave.  But  these  employers  cannot  be 
expected  to  send,  under  similar  circumstances,  to  Horsham, 
and  if  the  great  majority  are  thus  condemned  to  lose  the 
many  chances  of  a good  start  in  life  which  they  have  hitherto 
enjoyed,  no  economic,  educational,  or  sanitary  advantages 
can  compensate  Christ’s  Hospital  for  its  enforced  departure 
from  its  ancient  abode. 

But,  putting  on  one  side  the  rather  fatal  changes  in  the  site 
of  the  school  and  in  the  status  of  the  Governor,  and  passing 
by  those  “ castles  in  Spain,”  the  day-schools  for  boys  and 
girls,  of  which  the  1891  scheme  speaks,  “ Blues”  acknowledge 
one  or  two  particulars  in  which  that  scheme  has  proved 
better  than  their  fears.  The  competition  system  has  not 


Mb- 


THE  TREASURER’S  HOUSE  AND  GARDEN 

FROM  A PHOTOGRAPH  LENT  BY  THE  LONDON  AND  MIDDLESEX  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 


REFORM 


295 


meant  the  influx  of  an  undesirable  or  unpleasant  element 
into  the  personnel  of  the  School.  The  new-comers  have 
received  their  training  and  formed  their  habits  amid  other 
surroundings;  but  this  has  not  prevented  their  adapting  them- 
selves to  the  often  strange  ways  of  Christ’s  Hospital  and 
imbibing  some  of  its  spirit.  Oddly  enough,  though  they 
have  entered  through  the  gateway  of  a stiff  competition, 
they  have  not  up  to  the  present  shown  themselves  to  be 
much  more  doughty  combatants  in  the  scholarship  tourney 
than  those  who  were  “ presented  ” in  the  old  days  on  the 
merits  of  their  particular  case.  It  may  be  added  that  the 
competition  system  has  made  it  clear  again  &.nd  again  that 
the  opportunity  offered  to  a sharp  Board -School  boy  at 
Christ’s  Hospital  is  not  such  as  his  parents  care  to  grasp. 
The  sharp  boy  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  is  a potential  bread- 
winner, and  there  have  been  scores  of  cases  in  which  the  hope 
of  a University  education  does  not  weigh  much  against  the 
present  worth  of  seven-and-sixpence  a week. 

Again,  in  its  regulations  for  the  status  and  functions  of  the 
Head  Master,  the  scheme  has  undoubtedly  worked  a benefi- 
cent if  silent  revolution.  It  has  been  shown  in  preceding 
chapters  that  the  annals  of  Christ’s  Hospital  cannot  be 
arranged  in  periods  christened  with  the  names  of  successive 
Head  Masters.  If  any  office  would  answer  such  a purpose, 
it  is  that  of  the  Treasurer,  but  his  functions  went  far  beyond 
the  mere  direction  of  school  routine.  The  smallest  details 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  committees  or  the  Council  of 
Almoners,  bodies  which  will  not  serve  for  chapter-headings, 
as  they  never  died.  It  has  also  been  hinted  that  the  last 
half-century  has  witnessed  the  gradual  evolution  of  the 
Head  Master,  quite  independently  of  the  Charity  Com- 
missioners. What  the  impetuosity  of  Dr.  Jacob  began,  the 
natural  aptitude  of  the  present  Master  of  Marlborough 
developed,  and  the  cool  judgment  and  long  experience  of 
the  Rev.  Richard  Lee  has  continued.  But  the  Scheme 
legalised  his  authority  beyond  a doubt.  Clause  76  says  that 
the  “ Council  of  Almoners  shall  prescribe  the  general  subjects 
of  instruction,”  their  “relative  prominence  and  value,”  and 


296  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


the  arrangements  for  terms  and  holidays.  They  are  to  make 
their  proper  arrangements  for  salaries  and  for  “ otherwise 
furthering  the  current  objects  and  the  efficiency”  of  the 
School.  But  in  the  last  matter  they  are  to  give  the  Head 
Master  every  opportunity  to  express  his  views,  and  he  may 
present  his  own  proposals  “ for  making  or  altering  regula- 
tions concerning  any  matter  within  the  province  of  the 
Council  of  Almoners”  (Clause  77).  Under  these  conditions 
the  Head  Master  has  under  his  absolute  control  “ the  choice 
of  books,  the  method  of  teaching,  the  arrangement  of  classes 
and  school  hours,  and  generally  the  whole  internal  organisa- 
tion, management,  and  discipline.”  Thus  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  words  Mr.  Lee  is  the  first  Head  Master 
of  Christ’s  Hospital.  It  will  be  for  some  future  historian 
of  the  House  to  chronicle  the  results  of  this  beginning  as 
they  will  appear  in  the  transplanted  foundation.  It  says 
much  for  him  and  his  predecessor  and  much  for  the  last  two 
Treasurers,  Mr.  J.  D.  Allcroft  and  Mr.  Alderman  Walter 
Vaughan  Morgan,  that  the  difficulties  of  the  Head  Master’s 
position  up  to  1891  have  always  been  more  apparent  to  him 
than  to  the  school  at  large  or  even  to  his  colleagues  on  the 
staff.  Anyhow,  Christ’s  Hospital  has  turned  its  back  for 
good  on  the  state  of  things  described  by  the  1837  Com- 
missioners, who  found  that  “ all  the  masters,  as  well  classical 
as  mathematical,  consider  themselves  at  liberty  to  introduce 
for  the  use  of  their  classes  such  books  as  they  deem  best 
fitted  for  their  purpose." 

One  practical  result,  of  considerable  importance  to  the 
after  life  of  “ Blues,”  is  already  in  a fair  way  of  accomplish- 
ment. Christ’s  Hospital  is  blessed  with  a good  Exhibition 
Fund,  the  accumulated  gifts  of  many  generations  of  bene- 
factors from  Lady  Ramsey  onwards.  But  it  has  been  the 
unvarying  custom  that  only  the  boys  should  benefit  by  it, 
and  only  those  boys  who  win  scholarships  or  exhibitions 
at  an  Oxford  or  a Cambridge  college.  The  bund  will 
shortly  be  enlarged  by  the  falling  in  of  leases,  and  arrange- 
ments are  being  made  to  expand  its  usefulness.  There  is  no 
reason  why  the  girls  should  be  deprived  of  its  benefits , still 


REFORM 


297 


less  need  it  be  restricted  to  those  who  are  proceeding  to  the 
Universities.  Indeed,  as  the  Universities  are  to  most  of  our 
exhibitioners  merely  an  avenue  to  the  scholastic  profession, 
which  is  considerably  overcrowded  already,  it  is  well  to  en- 
courage “ Blues  ” to  enter  on  other  careers  and  to  help  them 
by  an  exhibition  to  bear  part  of  the  initial  expense.  A 
beginning  has  been  made  in  the  case  of  a Grecian  who 
recently  won  a Woolwich  cadetship  from  the  School.  He 
was  awarded  a Hospital  exhibition,  which  he  held  at  Wool- 
wich. It  is  a precedent  which  will  go  far,  and  it  is  the  out- 
come of  the  liberty  granted  by  the  Scheme  to  the  Head 
Master  to  make  proposals  to  the  Council  of  Almoners. 

Such,  then,  is  the  record  of  the  sundry  parts  and  the 
varied  functions  of  this  ancient  Foundation.  Such  has 
been  its  appearance  in  the  life  of  London  and  its  work 
in  the  nurture  of  sons  and  daughters.  If  any  not  belonging 
to  the  little  world  of  Christ’s  Hospital  should  be  at  the 
pains  to  read  the  story,  they  will  not  wonder  that  to  an 
ordinary  and  representative  “ Blue  ” there  is  something 
sacrosanct  about  the  time  - honoured  House  in  Newgate 
Street,  or  that,  when  he  says  his 

fir]  Kivet  Kafidpivav, 

he  speaks  from  a sense  of  the  good  that  the  School  has 
done  and  still  might  do  where  it  is,  and  constituted  as  it 
was  till  ten  years  ago.  It  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to 
appeal  to  a fanatical  conservatism,  such  as  many  “ Old 
Blues”  maintain  in  regard  to  the  monstrous  iniquity  of 
the  profane  hands  that  have  been  laid  on  the  place  and 
its  genius.  These  pages  have,  I hope,  been  sufficiently 
honest  to  show  that  in  the  past  there  have  been  eccentricities 
of  management  and  abuses  that  were  almost  normal.  The 
oft  - mentioned  matter  of  the  powerlessness  of  the  chief 
educational  authority  is  one  such  case,  and  it  seems  hard 
to  believe  that  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Bell  was  the  first  Head 
Master  who,  when  he  visited  a colleague’s  classroom,  ran 
no  danger  of  being  bowed  out  or  even  less  ceremoniously 


298  ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


disposed  of.  That,  at  any  rate,  was  already  remedied  before 
the  new  Scheme  came  into  operation. 

But  this  gradual  and  voluntary  putting  of  wrongs  to  right 
can  be  seen  equally  clearly  in  a matter  which  has  not 
appeared  so  frequently  upon  these  pages,  namely,  the 
medical  attention  paid  to  the  children  of  the  School.  For 
nearly  thirty  years  they  have  been  under  the  watchful 
care  of  a resident  physician,  whose  unceasing  skill  and 
vigilance  they  appreciate  little  till  they  see  it  in  retrospect. 
But  it  is  necessary  to  fall  back  into  the  eighteenth  century 
to  estimate  the  way  by  which  they  have  been  led  to  their 
comparative  immunity  from  disease,  let  alone  fatal  disease. 
In  1737  and  the  following  years  the  medical  treatment 
of  the  children  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Hans  Sloane 
and  other  doctors,  in  order  that  its  obvious  deficiencies 
might  be  remedied.  In  the  first  place  it  was  needful  to 
prevent  the  entry  into  the  rough  life  of  the  place  of 
children  physically  unfit  to  stand  it.  There  was,  of  course, 
a medical  examination  preliminary  to  admission,  but  this 
was  no  bar  to  the  entrance  of  weaklings,  who  were  without 
difficulty  “changed”  for  stronger  children  whom  the  doctor 
had  passed.  So  a Committee  of  1739  gave  orders  that 
the  Surgeon  and  the  Apothecary  should  “ not  only  signe 
a Note  of  such  Examination  but  tye  a string  about  their 
Necks  with  a Seal  of  Wax  affixed  at  the  End  thereof,  which 
the  children  are  to  wear  till  they  are  taken  into  this  Hospital 
or  sent  into  the  Country.”  True,  this  was  not  to  be  a 
permanent  expedient,  but  it  will  serve  to  mark  a difference 
between  then  and  now.  Again,  whether  they  needed  it 
or  not,  the  children  were  then  under  an  Apothecary  who  was 
determined  to  show  a large  expenditure  on  medicine. 
His  account  from  Michaelmas  to  Christmas,  1740,  was 
^330,  and  “on  those  days  between  the  Physicians  usual 
days  of  visiting  the  sick  wards  [he]  has  taken  upon  him 
the  ordering  and  directing  all  sorts  of  medicines  to  as 
many  of  the  children  as  he  thought  fit.”  Once  more, 
when  sickness  did  come,  the  Hospital’s  state  of  unprepared- 
ness to  meet  it  can  best  be  stated  in  terms  of  two  of  the 


REFORM 


299 


Medical  Committee’s  suggestions : one,  that  in  the  sick 
ward  “ the  Boys  and  Girls  be  kept  separate  ” ; the  other, 
“that  the  Children  in  ffevers  and  all  infectious  distempers 
have  each  a separate  bed  ” ! 

It  is  hardly  remarkable  that  “ Blues  ” and  Governors 
who  have  watched  the  silent  improvements  of  recent  years 
in  this  and  other  respects  should  think  it  right  to  claim 
that  the  Hospital  might  have  been  trusted  to  continue 
the  process.  The  pity  is  that,  failing  to  have  their  own 
way,  they  are  now  affecting  to  deny  that  Christ’s  Hospital 
is  Christ’s  Hospital  any  longer,  and  that  this  attitude  may 
tend  to  produce  a cleavage  between  past  and  future 
members  of  the  House.  But  those  who  have  watched  its 
life  most  closely  since  the  reform  stage  set  in,  while  not 
shutting  their  eyes  to  the  organic  changes  which  have 
come  over  the  School,  can  still  subscribe  to  the  famous 
words  of  the  “Schools  Inquiry  Commissioners.”  “Christ’s 
Hospital,”  they  said,  “ is  a thing  without  a parallel  in  the 
country  and  sui generis.  It  is  a grand  relic  of  the  mediaeval 
spirit,  a monument  of  the  profuse  munificence  of  that  spirit 
and  of  that  constant  stream  of  individual  beneficence  which 
is  so  often  found  to  flow  round  institutions  of  that  character. 
It  has  kept  its  main  features,  its  traditions,  its  antique 
ceremonies,  almost  unchanged  for  a period  of  upwards  of 
three  centuries.”  This  witness  is  true,  and,  if  the  past 
and  the  future  of  Christ’s  Hospital  loyalty  will  join  hands, 
may  still  be  true.  At  any  rate,  it  is  the  object  of  this 
imperfect  story  of  our  House  that  those  who  loved  it 
under  the  old  Scheme  may  be  content  to  continue  their 
lovingkindness  to  it  under  the  new,  and  that  the  “ Blue  ” 
who  enters  under  modern  conditions  may  remember  that 
he  has  a goodly  heritage.  So  let  both  unite  with  full 
assurance  in  the  time-honoured  prayer : — 

The  Religious,  Royal,  and  Ancient  Foundation 
of  Christ’s  Hospital — May  those  prosper  who  love 

IT,  AND  MAY  GOD  INCREASE  THEIR  NUMBER. 


NOTE 


THE  BUILDINGS  BEFORE  THE  FIRE 

IN  the  month  of  September,  1901,  when  this  volume  was  already 
in  type,  an  ancient  plan  (or  copy  of  a plan)  of  the  Hospital  was 
discovered  in  the  course  of  a clearance  in  the  offices  of  the  architect. 
It  deals  with  ground-floor  buildings  only,  and  therefore  does  not 
settle  the  position  of  dormitories  or  the  use  to  which  Whittington’s 
Library  was  put,  nor  does  it  contradict  in  any  important  particular 
the  statements  made  in  chapter  iv.  Still,  its  interest  is  sufficient  to 
warrant  a special  note. 

It  shows  that  an  otherwise  crowded  site  had  five  open  spaces  of 
various  sizes,  viz. : — the  Ditch,  the  Church-yard,  the  Garden,  the 
“Gray  Fryers,”  and  “Mr  Treasurer’s  Garden.”  The  largest  are  the 
two  on  the  north,  the  “Towne  Ditch”  and  the  “Church-yard” 
(cf.  p.  62),  which,  together  with  the  “Long  Walke”  between  them, 
occupied  about  a third  of  the  property.  There  is  an  entrance  for 
one  tenant  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ditch,  where  one  would  have 
expected  more.  On  the  south  of  the  Ditch  and  of  the  Church-yard 
are  two  bastions  of  the  City  Wall  (cf.  p.  47),  of  which  the  one  by 
the  Treasurer’s  House  is  used  as  a “Washhouse.”  Between  the 
Treasurer’s  House  and  the  Upper  Church  there  is  a congeries  of 
small  buildings.  At  the  corner  where  “Sixes’”  matron  now  has 
her  parlour  was  the  “ Writeing  School  ” associated  with  the  name  of 
Lady  Ramsey.  Between  the  Treasurer’s  House  and  the  “ Compting 
House”  there  was  a passage,  represented  to-day  by  the  path  the 
present  Treasurer  treads  from  the  • Counting  House  to  his  back 
entrance.  Close  to  the  Counting  House  are  the  “ Kitchine  ” and 
“Parler"  of  Mr.  Parrey,  the  Clerk,  and  on  the  other  side  of  it  the 
“Schoole  Mr“  House,”  while  the  southern  half  of  the  present 
Treasurer’s  Garden  is  occupied  by  the  gardens  and  houses  of 
various  tenants. 


300 


GROUND-PLAN  AT  THE  PRESENT  TIME 


NOTE 


301 


The  “ Garden  Plott  ” is  ornamented  with  a tree,  which  may  be 
taken  to  imply  that  something  more  than  grass  grew  on  it,  and  we 
are  able  by  means  of  the  plan  to  get  a directory  of  the  cloisters. 
Entering  at  the  Christ  Church  Lodge,  the  first  door  to  the  right 
in  the  East  Cloister  is  that  of  Jonathan  Pickes,  the  Writing  Master 
(cf.  p.  147).  He  and  “ Mr  Rochdale,”  who  was  allowed  the  use 
of  a coal-cellar  next  door  in  1654,  take  up  the  part  now  represented 
by  the  staircase  of  Wards  I.— III.  Then  comes  the  Grammar  School, 
occupying  the  site  of  the  present  Museum  and  Library,  while  the 
corner  by  “Sixes’”  lavatory  is  given  to  “Mr  Helm’s  parler”  (i.e. 
Shadrach  Helmes,  the  Upper  Grammar  Master). 

The  ground  floor  of  the  North  Cloister  under  Whittington’s 
Library  is  divided  between  the  “ Maidens  Schoole  ” and  the 
“Cole-house,”  and  behind  these  to  the  north  are  the  “Well-yard” 
(cf.  p.  49),  the  “ Ducke-yard,”  the  “ Sea-Cole-house,”  and  the 
“ Shooe-makers-yard.” 

The  West  Cloister,  being  under  the  Hall,  uses  its  ground  floor  for 
the  “Children’s  Buttery”  and  the  “ Cheesehouse,”  and  for  Porters’ 
and  Shoemakers’  rooms. 

The  “Giffs”  turns  out  to  be  less  aristocratic  than  one  hoped. 
The  Matron’s  House,  the  only  habitation  in  it,  probably  included 
part  of  the  present  Lodge,  and  may  have  communicated  with  a 
Girls’  ward  on  the  first  floor. 

At  the  west  end  of  the  “Giffs”  there  is  another  Lodge,  leading 
to  “The  Gray  Fryers.”  The  Hall-Play  is  occupied,  as  stated  on 
pages  58,  59,  with  many  and  various  buildings.  For  example,  the 
“Mr  Offley”  mentioned  on  page  58  turns  out  to  have  a good 
frontage  on  to  “The  Gray  Fryers.”  But  the  most  notable  thing 
in  this  part  of  the  plan  is  its  inclusion  of  “ Mr  Aldworths  Schoole,” 
the  foundation  for  forty  poor  boys,  which  is  described  on  page  102, 
and  which  was  opened  in  1660.  The  plan  must  thus  be  assigned 
to  some  year  between  1660  and  the  Great  Fire,  unless  it  was  drawn 
up  in  accordance  with  the  precept  from  Guildhall  mentioned  on 
page  2x1. 


APPENDICES 


A.  PRESIDENTS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 

Note. — The  first  four  held  the  title  of  Surveyor  General 
and  had  power  over  all  the  Royal  Hospitals 


1553  Sir  George  Barnes. 
1556  Sir  Martin  Bowes. 
1556  Sir  Andrew  Judd. 
1559  Sir  Thomas  Oflley. 


1563  Sir  Thomas  White. 

1582  Sir  Thomas  Ramsey. 

1590  Sir  Wolstan  Dixie. 

1593  Sir  Richard  Martin. 

1602  Sir  Stephen  Slaney. 

1608  Sir  Humphrey  Weld. 

1610  Sir  William  Craven. 

1618  Sir  John  Leman. 

1632  Sir  Martin  Lumley. 

1634  Sir  Hugh  Hammersley. 

1 636  Sir  Christopher  Clitherowe. 
1641  Sir  Richard  Gurney. 

1643  Sir  John  Cordall. 

1648  Sir  John  Gayer. 

1649  Sir  John  Wollaston. 

1658  Sir  Thomas  Vyner. 


1660  Sir  Thomas  Atkins. 

1661  John  Fowke. 

1662  Sir  John  Frederick. 

1684  Sir  John  Moore. 

1702  Sir  Francis  Child. 

1712  Sir  Richard  Hoare. 

1718  Sir  Robert  Child. 

1721  Robert  Heysham. 

1722  Sir  Francis  Forbes. 

1727  Sir  George  Merttins. 

Francis  Child. 

1740  Sir  John  Barnard. 

1758  Sir  Robert  Ladbroke. 

1773  Sir  Henry  Bankes. 

1774  Robert  Alsop. 

1785  Richard  Clarke.  [Bart. 
1798  Sir  John  William  Anderson, 
1813  Sir  William  Curtis,  Bart. 
1829  William  Thompson. 

1854  H.  R.  H.  The  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  k.g.,  & c. 


302 


APPENDICES 


303 


B.  TREASURERS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL 


1552  Sir  Thomas  Roe. 
1552  Richard  Grafton. 
1557  Richard  Buckland. 
1559  Robert  Cage. 

1561  John  Jackson. 

1574  Thomas  Hall. 

1583  William  Norton. 
1594  Robert  Cogan. 
1614  William  Dale. 

Richard  Heath. 
1624  John  Harper. 

1632  John  Hawes. 

1638  John  Babington. 
1652  Richard  Glyd. 

1662  William  Gibbon. 
1679  Charles  Doyly. 
1683  Nathaniel  Hawes. 
1699  Robert  Oxwick. 


C.  HEAD,  OR  UPPER 

1 553  John  Robynson. 

1564  Ralph  Waddington. 

1612  Thomas  Hayne. 

1630  Thomas  Walters. 

1652  George  Perkins. 

1662  Shadrach  Helmes. 

1678  James  Mansfield. 

1682  The  Rev.  Samuel  Mount- 
fort. 

1719  The  Rev.  Matthew  Audley. 
1725  The  Rev.  Peter  Selby. 

1738  The  Rev.  Seawell  Heath- 
erly. 


1700  Francis  Brerewood. 

1707  Thomas  Lockington. 

1716  Sir  George  Merttins. 

1727  Richard  Cheeke. 

1734  Robert  Gay. 

1737  Philip  Scarth. 

1758  Daniel  Webb. 

1770  Thomas  Burfoot. 

1785  William  Gill. 

1798  James  Palmer. 

1824  Thomas  Poynder. 

1835  Richard  Hotham  Pigeon. 
1847  William  Gilpin. 

1867  William  Foster  White. 
1873  John  Derby  Allcroft. 

1891  Walter  Vaughan  Morgan, 
Alderman. 


GRAMMAR  MASTERS 

1753  The  Rev.  James  Townley. 
1760  The  Rev.  Peter  Whalley. 
1776  The  Rev.  James  Boyer. 
1799  The  Rev.  A.  W.  Trollope, 

D.D. 

1827  The  Rev.  John  Green- 
wood, D.D. 

1836  The  Rev.  Edward  Rice,  d.d. 
1853  The  Rev.  George  Andrew 
Jacob,  d.d. 

1868  The  Rev.  George  Charles 
Bell. 

1876  The  Rev.  Richard  Lee. 


304 


APPENDICES 


D.  CLERKS  TO  THE  GOVERNORS 


1552  John  Watson. 

1562  James  Peele. 

1586  Richard  Wilson. 

1593  Lawrence  Couchman. 
1 5 97  John  Banister. 

1623  Thomas  Stephenson. 
1653  William  Parvey 
1704  George  Yeo 
1 71 1 William  Brockett 


1746  John  Yeo. 

1749  John  Bowden. 

1760  Joseph  Eyre. 

1790  Richard  Corp. 

1817  Thomas  Wilby. 

1836  George  Trollope. 

1864  Matthias  S.  S.  Dip^all. 
1889  Richard  Lee  Framre. 


INDEX 


Addresses,  Queen  Victoria,  204;  Queen 
Mary,  204 ; George  I,  205  ; George 
II,  205  ; George  III,  205 
Admiralty,  apprentices’  premiums 
granted  by,  104 

— badge  worn  by  boys  nominated  by, 
I32-3 

Advowsons  in  gift  of  C.H.,  277 
“African  Company,”  application  for 
apprentices,  283 

Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales, 
foundation  stone  at  Horsham  laid 
by,  63 

Aldermen,  right  of  presentation,  43 
Aldworth,  Richard,  102-3,  136-7,  302. 

bequest,  102-3 

Allcroft,  J.  D.,  Treasurer,  296,  303 
Allhallows,  Lombard  Street,  boys 
attend  service  at,  231 
Allyn,  Dr.,  Grey  Friars  visited  by,  7 
Almoners,  Council  of,  296-1.  See  also 
Governors 

Amicable  Society  of  Blues,  62 
Andrews,  Sir  Matthew,  144 

— — his  scheme  for  Mathematical 
School,  123-5 

Anne,  Queen,  at  Guildhall,  205 
Apartments  for  masters  and  clerks,  49, 
52 

Apothecary,  92,  298 
Apprentices,  130,  13 1,  241,  282-4 

— bound  only  to  large  ships,  101, 
126-8 

— premiums,  104,  130-1 

— applications  from  captains  for,  122, 
127 

— complaints  of  shipmasters  against, 
122-3 

— few  high  naval  appointments  taken 
by,  126 

— join  Commanders  without  consent 
of  Treasurer,  127 

Architect’s  offices,  49 

Archives  saved  from  Great  Fire,  210 


Arris,  Edward,  bequest,  224 
Astronomical  observations,  R.M.S., 
IIO 

Athletics,  265 

Audley,  Edward,  elopes  from  C.H.,  248 

— Rev.  Matthew,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  86,  87,  277,  303 

Aungier,  Major,  114,  116,  120 
Austin,  John,  shop  in  Grey  Friars,  59 
Aylmer,  John,  Bp.  of  London,  220 

Babington,  John,  Treasurer,  303 

funeral,  228 

bequest  230 

Bacon,  Josiah,  bequest,  61 
his  wards,  63 

— Roger,  5-6 

Badges,  worn  by  boys,  101,  103,132-3 

— sale  of,  261,  263 
Bakehouse  of  the  Franciscans,  58 

— destroyed  in  Great  Fire,  210 
Balance-sheet,  annual,  42 
Ballthroppe,  Robert,  “ chirurgione  ” of 

C.H.,  24 

Bancks,  John,  bequest,  236 
“Bands”  (neck-bands),  their  origin, 
186 

Bannister,  FI.,  porter,  245 
Barber  at  Hertford  school,  165 
Barne,  Mr.,  Aid.,  14 
Barnes,  Sir  George,  President,  302 

— Joshua,  271 

his  Spital  Psalm,  226 

— Thomas,  a benefactor,  136,  155,  1 93 
bequest,  155,  193 

portrait,  1 93 

— Thomas,  editor  of  The  Times , 92 
Barrett,  John,  Music  Master,  143-4 
Barrington,  Shute,  donation,  62 
Barrow,  Isaac,  Spital  Preacher,  222-3 
Bartholomew  Fair,  254-5 

Bartlett,  Thomas,  Aid.,  Governor,  23 
Bastion  of  the  City  Wall,  300 
Baths,  251 


X 


3°S 


306 


INDEX 


Batty,  Mr.,  Reading  Master,  155 
Beadles,  25,  27-8,  257 

— profits  of  tuck-shop  divided  be- 
tween, 181 

— duties  of,  235-6,  244-9,  262,  263 

— re-elected  on  St.  Matthew’s  day, 
236 

— boys  birched  by,  259 
Beaumont,  Dr.,  Master  of  Peterhouse, 

269,  278 

Beckford,  Sir  Thomas,  133 
Beer  supplied  at  C.H.,  174,  244-5 

— sold  by  porters,  245-6 

Bell,  Rev.  G.  C.,  Head  Master,  95,  98, 
277.  295.  297-8,  3°3 
Bell  rung  at  closing  time,  251 
Benefactors,  right  of  presentation,  43 
Benefices,  masters  appointed  to,  277, 
282 

— non-residence,  281 
Benne,  Wm.,  under-butler,  24 
Bennett,  Mr.,  tuck-shop  kept  by,  180 
Bentley,  Richard,  Master  of  Trinity 

College,  274 

— • — his  letter  to  the  Governors,  275-6 
Berden,  Feilde  appointed  curate  of,  89 
Berkeley,  Lord,  149 
Betts,  Mr.,  curate  of  Christ  Church, 
202 

Beza’s  Latin  Testament,  125 
Bible  used  as  a reading  book,  157-8 
Billingsley,  Samuel,  272,  276 
Binfield,  Henry,  Tripos  honours  first 
gained  by,  85 
Birch,  use  of,  259 
Blackman  Street,  Bow,  230 
Blackwell  Hall  the  property  of  C.H., 
187 

Bletchingley,  230 
Blow  Bladder  Street,  260 
"Blues,”  old,  appointed  as  masters, 
276.  See  also  Boys 
Blundell,  John,  Aid.,  Governor,  22 

— Peter,  29 

bequest,  214 

Bonfires  in  C.H.,  254 

Books,  used  by  the  children,  75,  77-8 

by  Grecians,  96 

by  Mathematical  School,  125, 

127,  129 

by  Music  School,  138 

by  Reading  School,  158 

— ordered  through  Treasurer,  86 

— prepared  by  Peter  Selby,  87-8 

by  Sir  Jonas  Moore,  109 

Bounds,  boys  to  keep  within,  247-8 

— punishment  for  disobedience,  262-3 
Bowden,  John,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 

304 

Bowerman,  Mrs.  Sarah,  bequest,  194-5 


Bowes,  Sir  Martin,  President,  14,  22, 
29,  282,  302 
Bowling  Alley,  245-6 
Boyer,  Rev.  James,  Head  Master,  27, 
54,  88-9,  92,  303 

his  success,  89-90 

boys  from  Hertford  sent  to,  90-2 

resignation,  92,  93 

vicar  of  Colne  Engaine,  282 

— John,  Clerk  of  the  Coopers’  Com- 
pany, 8S 

Boys,  mortality  among,  28 

— attend  burials,  57 

— number  sent  to  University,  98 

— lead  the  train-bands  through  the 
City,  99 

— number  of,  27,  37,  157,  164,  165, 
211 

— more  accommodation  required,  54-5 

— scantily  clad,  183 

— punished  for  wearing  private  clothes, 
1S4 

— attendance  at  church,  191-203 

— at  civic  ceremonies,  204-6 

— elope,  247-9 

— names  called  each  night,  251,  262 

— behaviour  of,  74,  257-8 

— medical  treatment,  298-9 
Bread  made  at  Bridewell,  174 
Breeches,  first  worn,  188 
Brewer,  Thomas,  music  master,  14 1 
Brewhouse  of  the  Franciscans,  58 
Brewster,  Edward,  books  presented  by, 

125 

Bridewell,  257 

— children  committed  to,  29 
taught  a trade  at,  170 

— bread  made  at,  174 

— idle  persons  committed  to,  235,  244 
Brockett,  Wm.,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 

304 

Brookes,  Rev.  G.  J.,  Mathematical 
Master,  129 

Brothers  Preachers.  See  Dominicans 
Brown,  Dr.  Plaig,  95,  271 
Brown,  Henry,  “ chirurgione,”  24 
Browne,  John,  Aid.,  governor,  22 
bequest,  209 

— Richard,  Music  Master,  142,  143, 
144,  227 

— Robart,  136 

— Robert,  Writing  Master,  146 
Broxbourne.  See  Hoddesddn 
Bryckett,  Thomas,  first  vicar  of  Christ 

Church,  21-2,  192 
Buckle,  Canon,  94,  128,  157-8 
Buckle  worn  by  Travers’  boys,  132 
Buescum,  Nicholas  Van,  a "pynne 
maker,”  17 1 

Building  fund,  started  in  1803,  62-3 


INDEX 


307 


“ Bull  Inn,”  Ware,  167 

Burchard,  apprenticed  to  Adm.  Sir  T. 

Dillcs,  122-3 
Burial  ground,  300 

cloisters  used  as,  56-7 

quadrangle  used  as,  57 

disused  by  Act  of  Parliament,  198 

Burials,  57,  228-31 

— children  attend,  136,  228-31 

— girls  act  as  mutes,  169 

— income  from,  228,  231 

— money  received  by  children  divided 
with  nurses,  230 

— beadles  duties  at,  235 
Burnet,  Gilbert,  72 

Butcher  Hall  Lane,  48,  60,  199 

Buttery,  244-5,  301 

Buttons,  first  used  on  coat,  186-7 

Caius  College,  66 

Calthrop,  John,  Aid.,  Governor,  23 

ditch  covered  over  by,  47,  206 

Cambridge,  Duke  of,  President,  56, 302 
Cambridge,  Franciscan  settlement  at,  5 
Cambridge  University,  first  “Blue” 
at,  27 

Roger  Smith  sent  to,  68-9 

right  to  elect  one  Almoner,  291 

Campion,  Edmund,  presents  address 
to  Queen  Mary,  2^4 
Cap  used  by  boys,  185 
Captains,  applications  for  apprentices 
from,  122,  127 
Carey,  Mordecai,  87,  274 
Carpenter’s  shop,  56 
Carpets  made  by  girls,  171 
Caswell,  Mr.,  120 
Catechism,  67-8,  74-8,  137,  214 
Catherine  Hall,  Cambridge,  272 
Cato  class,  81 
Cecil,  268 

Chapman,  Thomas,  Grey  Friars  deed  of 
surrender  signed  by,  8 
Charity  Commissioners’  report,  94-6, 
129-30,  150,  172,  193 

their  scheme  for  reform,  13 1-2, 

285-97 

suggest  teaching  of  modern 

languages,  161 

attack  on  ‘ ‘ Donation  Governors,” 

289-92 

Charles  II,  founder  of  Mathematical 
School,  100-2 

— charter  of,  100-3 

— appropriates  money  lent  to  Govern- 
ment, 102 

— demands  trees  from  Leesney  Abbey 
estate,  103 

Charsley,  Trongon,  coal-keeper,  25 
“Chasings.”  See  Elopement 


Cheese-house,  302 

Chester,  Wm.,  Aid.,  Governor,  22 

Child,  Sir  Francis,  President,  259,  302 

— — wards  rebuilt  by,  51,  55 
Choir,  56,  137,  202-3 

Christ  Church,  founded  by  Henry 
VIII,  9 

re-opened,  13 

parishes  united  with,  13 

first  vicar  under  new  charter,  13, 

21-2 

visited  by  Corporation,  14 

right  of  presentation,  43 

catechism  held  in,  75-6 

choir,  56,  137,  202-3 

organ,  138,  141-2,  200-1,  203 

boys  practice  on,  139 

organist  appointed,  143 

books  presented  by  Farrant  to, 

140 

attendance  of  children,  169,  191- 

203,  264 

dimensions,  191 

serves  as  a school  chapel,  19 1, 

195 

its  connection  with  C.H.,  191-4 

bequests,  192-4 

special  services,  193,  236-7 

Reformation  sermon,  193 

Gunpowder  Plot  sermon,  193,  200 

Digby  tomb,  193 

disputes  with  C.H.,  196-202,  247 

— — “Tabernacle”  erected  inside, 
197 

gallery  built  for  boys,  197-8 

controversy  over  pathway  to 

Hospital,  198-9 

portion  of  site  appropriated  to 

C.H.,  199 

compensation  for,  200 

annual  grant  to  curate,  201 

tower  built,  202 

Spital  sermons,  219 

See  also  Grey  Friars  Church 

Christ  Church  Passage,  origin  of,  5 

right  of  way  through,  251 

Christmas  holiday,  265 
Christ’s  Hospital,  26,  27,  33-4 

foundation  of  school,  10-32 

• grant  from  Corporation  for  fur- 

nishing, 15 

first  mention  of  inmates,  16 

its  connexion  with  the  Corpora- 
tion, 19-20,  21,  212-13 

list  of  officers,  22,  24-6 

number  of  boys,  27,  37,  157, 

165,  211 

mortality  among  the  children,  28 

revenues  of  the  Savoy  granted 

to,  29 


3°8 


INDEX 


Christ’s  Hospital,  financial  condition, 
29-31 

charter  of  Edward  VI,  31-2 

weekly  collections  in  City  parishes 

for,  34 

foundlings,  35-6,  38,  246-7 

medical  assistance  to  strangers, 

39-40 

boys’  qualifications  for  admit- 
tance to,  40,  132,  213,  292,  294-5 

regulations,  41-4 

new  buildings  added,  47 

effect  of  Great  Fire  on,  51 

rebuilding  by  Erasmus  Smith, 

etc.,  51-4 

two  new  wards  erected,  54-5,  61 

south  side  rebuilt  by  Sir  R. 

Clayton,  55 

Hall,  by  Sir  John  Frederick, 

55-6 

clearance  of  out-buildings,  61-2 

building  fund,  62 

rebuilding,  1803-29,  62-4 

foundation  stone  of  Hall  laid, 

1825,  63 

Hall  opened,  1829,  63-4 

exchange  of  land  with  St.  Bartho- 
lomew’s Hospital,  64 

Classical  v.  Modern  controversy, 

83-6 

Pepys’  interest  in  1 13-21 

books  published  by,  125-6 

report  of  Commissioners  on,  94, 

95-6,  129-30 

disputes  with  Christ  Church, 

1 91-4,  196-202 

boys  take  part  in  civic  functions, 

204-6 

unhealthy  position  of,  206 

plague  at,  206-8 

Great  Fire  at,  208,  209-10 

children  removed,  208-9 

property  in  the  City  burnt,  21 1 

letter  sent  to  tenants  after  Great 

Fire,  211-12 

income  from  burials,  228 

Public  Lotteries,  240-2 

boys  elope  from,  247-9 

daily  routine,  250-I 

evening  bell,  251 

right  of  way  through,  251,252-3 

shops  in  the  grounds,  252,  253 

grounds  let  to  stall-keepers,  254 

holiday  during  Fairs,  254-5 

exhibitions  to  Universities,  268, 

270-1 

dispute  with  Peterhouse,  269-70 

exhibitioners  appointed  masters, 

276-7 

advowsons  in  gift  of,  277 


Christ’s  Hospital, government  0^285-79 

reform,  285-97 

dispute  with  the  Corporation, 

287- 8 

settled  by  Act  of  Parliament, 

288- 9 

future  site  of,  292-4 

removal  from  Newgate  Street, 

293-4  . 

ancient  prayer,  or  toast,  299 

plan  of  buildings  before  the  Fire, 

300-1 

Church  linen  granted  by  Edward  VI, 
184 

Church  of  England,  doctrine  of,  taught, 

75 

Churchyard.  See  Burial  Ground 
City  Marshal,  his  authority  over  the 
beadles,  236 

City  Wall,  its  course  through  C.H.,  47 

bastion  of  the,  300 

Classical  versus  Modern  controversy, 
83-6 

— classes,  8 1 , 83 
Clavering,  88,  204 

Clayton,  Sir  Robert,  50,  56,  169 

south  side  of  C.H.  rebuilt  by,  55 

tablet  removed  to  Horsham,  55 

proposal  to  start  Navigation 

Class,  100 

endeavours  to  obtain  Aldworth’s 

legacy  from  Government,  103 
Cleere,  Lady,  bequest,  214 
Clerk  of  C.  H.  House  destroyed  by  fire, 
51-2 

salary,  92 

“ Clerkenwell,  new  Corporacon  near,” 
children  lodged  at,  209 
Clerks  to  the  Governors,  list  of,  304 
Clifford,  Lord  Treasurer,  100 
“Clog-and-collar”  punishment,  259-60 
Cloisters,  the,  48,  301 

— apartments  in,  49 

— repaired,  49-51 

— new  ward  built  over  east,  50-1 

— survive  the  Great  Fire,  51,  210 

— vaults  prepared  under,  57 

— shops  built  in,  181,  252 
Coat  worn  at  C.Ii.,  186 

— buttons  first  used,  186-7 
Cobb,  Samuel,  master,  84 

translates  Synopsis  Algebraica, 

126 

Spital  Psalms,  226-7 

appointed  Usher  of  Grammar 

School,  227 

Cobbler.  See  Translator 
Coleridge,  S.  T.,  54,  89-90,  179 

Rev.  J.  Boyer’s  interest  in,  90 

Coif,  Richard,  exhibitioner,  268 


INDEX 


309 


“ Collar  ” punishment,  259-60 
Collins,  Wm.,  Governors  discharge  his 
debts,  272,  274 

Colne  Engaine  rectory  bequeathed  to 
C.H.,  146 

Colston,  Mathematical  School  ex- 
amined by,  ill 
Colwall,  Daniel,  bequest,  105 
Commercial  education,  84,  146 
Compton,  Bp.,  prayers  composed  by, 
78-9 

Contracts  for  food,  175-6 
Cook,  Captain,  127 
Cooke,  Robert,  tailor,  24 

— Rev.  Thomas,  classical  examiner, 
81,  87,  239 

report  on  University  candidates, 

86 

St.  Matthew’s  day  preacher,  237 

report  on  the  Grammar  School, 

238 

Corderius  class,  81,  82 
Cornelius,  Rev.  Dr.,  277,  281 
Cornhill,  Grey  Friars’  house  in,  3 
Corp,  Richard,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 
304 

Corporation  of  London,  appointed 
trustees  of  Royal  hospitals,  1 1— 13, 
100,  285-6 

Grey  Friars,  property  made  over 

t°,  13 

poor  relief  committee  appointed, 

18-19 

its  connexion  with  C.  H.,  19-20, 

212 

public  subscription  raised  for 

poor,  20-1 

dispute  with  the  Bp.  of  London, 

220 

Spital  preacher  nominated  by, 

220;  sanctioned  by  Parliament,  221 

Sunday  preachers  at  St.  Paul’s 

paid  by,  221 

lose  their  power  over  C.  H. , 

287-8 

dispute  with  C.  H. , 287-8 ; settled 

by  Act  of  Parliament,  288-9 

right  to  elect  twelve  Governors, 

289 

Couchman,  Lawrence,  clerk  to  the 
Governors,  304 
Counting-house,  300 

— destroyed  by  fire,  51-2,  210 

— rebuilt,  52 

— officials’  salaries,  92-3 

— Governors  meet  in,  234-5 
Counting-house  Yard,  255-6 
Court,  Mr.,  tuck-shop  kept  by,  180 

— • Robert,  clerk  in  Counting-house,  49 
Court,  annual  visit  of  boys  to,  133-4 


Court-room,  rebuilt,  52 
Cox,  Deputy,  158,  179 

— George,  exhibitioner,  212,  272 
Craven,  Sir  Wm.,  President,  302 
Creek,  the,  57 

Cricket  Club,  265 

Crompton,  Wm.,  Aid.,  Governor,  23 
Crumwell,  monasteries  plundered  by,  7 
Cubitt,  Messrs.,  wards  and  schools  re- 
built by,  64 
Cudworth,  278 
Cumberland,  Richard,  274 
Currey,  David,  84 
“Cutting-room,”  49 
Cutts,  Thomas,  Writing  Master,  24,  146 

Dallum,  Mr.,  organ  in  Hall  built  by, 
141-2 

Dance,  Commodore  Sir  Nathaniel,  131 
Davies,  Rev.  Dr.,  master  of  Queens’ 
College,  Cambridge,  280 
Day  Room,  57 
Deane,  Sir  Anthony,  50 
Devon,  Richard  of,  2 
Dilks,  Sir  T. , 122-3 
— - Lady,  refuses  to  restore  a lad’s  in- 
dentures, 122-3 

Dipnall,  M.  S.  S.,  clerk  to  the  Gover- 
nors, 303 

Disseneer,  Gerhard,  142 
Distress,  national,  in  Commonwealth 
period,  213-14 

Disturnell,  Josiah,  presents  address  to 
George  III,  205 

Ditch,  the  Town,  46-8,  206,  255,  300 

covered  over  by  John  Calthrop, 

47 

surface  over,  leased  to  C.  H. , 47 

Ditton,  Mr.,  master  New  Mathematical 
School,  50,  123 

— revises  Synopsis  Algebraica , 125-6 
Dixie,  Sir  Wolstan,  President,  302 
Dixon,  Thomas,  bequest,  268 
Dobbs,  Sir  Richard,  Mayor,  18-20 
raises  public  subscription  for  poor, 

20-1 

Dole-house  of  the  Franciscans,  57 
Dominicans,  Grey  Friars  entertained 
by,  3 

“ Donation  Governors,”  289-92 
Dormitories,  49 

Dortor,  Greater,  of  the  Franciscans, 
5L  55.  210 

Dow,  Robert,  135-6,  145,  228 

— — bequest,  136-7,  138-9,  202-3 
Drawing,  Pepys’  remarks  upon  English 

and  Foreign,  1 59 
Drawing  School,  27,  158-62 

erected,  54 

rebuilt,  64 


3!0 


INDEX 


Drawing  School,  reason  for  its  establish- 
ment, 158-9 

first  started,  159 

scheme  abandoned  for  a time, 

159-60 

re-started,  160 

Hall  used,  160 

its  success,  160-1 

at  Horsham,  161 

Dress  of  the  boys,  29,  101,  182-90 

— clothes  made  by  the  children,  170-1 

— monastic  origin,  182 

— coat,  183,  186 

— children  scantily  clad,  183 

— linen  obtained  from  churches,  184 

— punishment  for  wearing  private 
clothes,  184 

— no  additions  to  be  made,  184-5 

— caps,  185 

— bands,  186 

— large  number  of  pins  used,  186 

— buttons  first  used  for  coat,  186-7 

— kerseys,  187 

— disposal  of  old  clothes,  187-8 

— breeches,  188 

— yellow  stockings,  188 

— shoes,  188-9 

Dress  of  the  girls,  189-90 

— girls  not  allowed  to  wear  private 
clothes,  190 

— shoes,  1 90 
Duck  Yard,  301 

Dummer,  Mr.,  shipbuilder,  126 
Dungeon,  “Chasing,”  punished  by 
committal  to,  259 
Durham,  Bp.  of,  donation  of,  62 


East,  Wm.,  appointed  Reading 
Master,  155 

removed  to  Hertford,  85,  1 55 

East  Bedfont,  213-14 
East  India  Company,  application  for 
apprentices,  283-4 
Easter  Anthems,  144 

— exam.,  80-1 

— holiday,  264-5 

Eaton,  Thomas,  Governor,  23 
Education  Office,  right  to  elect  one 
Almoner,  291 

Edward  III,  his  window  in  Grey  Friars’ 
monastery,  5 

— VI,  consults  Bp.  Ridley  as  to  relief 
of  poor,  16-20 

charter  of,  31-2 

Church  linen  granted  by,  184 

Elkine,  Aid.  Wm.,  bequest,  218 
Ellenborough,  Lord,  88 
Elopements,  247-9,  25^_9 

— punishment  for,  259,  260-1 


Emmanuel  College,  exhibitioners  at, 
209,  271 

Lee  expelled  from,  273 

Erasmus  class,  81-2,  83 
Esseby,  William  de,  2 
Essexe,  Mr.,  Governor,  23 
Eversden  Rectory,  281 
Ewen,  John.  See  Iwyn,  John 
Examinations,  80-1,  87,  116-17,  257— S 

— conducted  by  the  Governors,  150 

— held  on  St.  Matthew’s  day  and  at 
Easter,  238-9 

Examiners’  reports,  80-3 
Exhibition  Fund,  296-7 
Exhibitioners,  after-life  of,  267-82 
Exhibitions.  See  Universities 
Expulsion,  punishment  by,  258-9 

“ Fags  ” for  the  elder  boys,  257-8 
Faithorne,  Mr.,  Drawing  Master,  159 
Farrant,  John,  Music  Master,  136-9 

Vicar’s  complaint  against,  139 

arrested  for  debt,  139 

resignation,  139-40 

gift  to  Christ  Church,  140 

re-appointed,  140 

death,  140 

Fearon,  Mr.,  report  of,  292-3 
Feilde,  Rev.  Matthew,  Under  Grammar 
Master,  54,  88-9 

vicar  of  Ugley  with  Berden,  89 

Ffenton,  Thomas,  Governor,  23 
Ffisher,  Henry,  Governor,  23 

— Jasper,  Governor,  23 
Fforeskeue,  John,  porter  of  C.H.,  24 
Finsbury  Court  acquired  as  a sana- 
torium, 19 

Fire  of  London,  147,  148,  208 

Hall  damaged,  55 

Christ  Church  damaged,  196-7 

C.H.  damaged,  209-10 

holiday  to  commemorate,  264 

plan  of  C.H.  previous  to  the, 

300-1 

Flamsteed,  John,  astronomer  - royal, 
Governor,  109,  125,  287 
Fletcher,  Johnny,  182 

— Richard,  119 

Spital  Psalm,  226 

Food,  173-82 

— nurses  to  supply,  174 

— cost  of,  174-5.  176 

— daily  menu  (old),  176-7.  (modern), 
180 

— portions  not  excessive,  1 78-9 

• — bequest  to  supply  a pork  dinner, 
179 

— quality  of,  179-80. 

— served  on  wooden  trenchers,  1 79 
Football  Club,  265 


INDEX 


3H 


Ford,  Sir  Richard,  279 
Forster,  Stephen,  Lord  Mayor,  endow- 
ment for  Spital  sermons,  217-18 

— W.  E.,  M.P.,  293 

Foster,  Robert,  barber  of  C.H.,  146 
Founder’s  Day,  holiday  on,  264 
Foundlings,  C.H.  originally  founded 
for,  26 

— admitted  to  C.H.  35—6,  246-7 

— difficulty  with  parish  about,  38,  198 
Franciscans  or  Friars  Minors,  1-9 

— arrival  at  Dover,  2 

— hospitality  shown  to,  2 

— mode  of  living,  2 

— Rule  of  St.  Francis  confirmed,  2 

— settlement  at  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge, 5 

— See  also  Grey  Friars 

Franks,  R.  L.,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 
304 

Frederick,  Sir  John,  President,  54, 
239,  302 

Hall  rebuilt  by  55-6 

demolished,  63 

applies  to  Pepys  for  grant  from 

Admiralty,  104 
French  class,  161-2 
Friars  Minors.  See  Franciscans 
Fuller,  G.  I.,  beadle,  45 
Funerals.  See  Burials 

Gainscolne,  advowson  in  gift  of  C.PI., 
92,  277 

Games.  See  Recreations 
Garden,  The,  48,  56,  255,  300,  301 

— converted  into  a playground,  57 
Gayer,  Sir  John,  President,  193,  194, 

302 

committed  to  the  Tower,  194  ; 

released,  194 

bequests,  194 

George  I,  address  presented  to,  205 

— II,  address  presented  to,  205 

— Ill,  visit  to  the  City,  205 
German  class,  161-2 

Gibbins,  Richard,  shipmaster’s  com- 
plaint against,  122 
Gibbon,  Wm.,  Treasurer,  148,  303 

his  loss  through  Great  Fire,  21 1 

Gibbons,  Grinling,  statue  of  Sir  John 
Moore,  carved  by,  152-3 
Gibbs,  Rev.  Michael,  192 
“Giffs”  cloister,  45-6,  301 

— girls’  school  over,  169 
Gill,  Wm.,  Treasurer,  61,  303 
Giltspur  Street  Compter,  gymnasium 

on  site  of,  265 
Girls,  catechism  taught,  76 

— separated  from  the  boys,  169 

— meals  served  in  the  Hall,  169 


Girls  act  as  mutes,  169,  230 

— attend  Christ  Church,  169,  202 

— number  of,  1 7 1 

— dress,  189-90 

— not  allowed  to  wear  private  clothes, 
190 

— permission  to  leave  bounds,  263 
Girls’  School,  27,  49,  50,  168-72,  301 

at  Hertford,  168,  171-2 

complaints  of  bad  conduct,  169 

building  used  over  “ Giffs,”  169 

qualifications  of  head  mistress, 

170 

dormitory,  1 70 

subjects  taught,  170-1 

masters  appointed,  172 

Commissioners’  report,  172 

Lady  Cleere’s  bequest,  214 

Gloucester,  Countess  of,  bequest  4 
“ Glove,”  the,  on  Speech  day,  240 
Gloves  supplied  to  Music  School,  138 

— Arris’s  gift  to  boys,  224 
Goodchild,  Mr.,  carpenter,  197 
Governors,  list  of  earliest,  22-3 

— right  of  presentation,  43,  290,  292 

— fined  for  absence  during  catechism, 
75 

— attend  service  at  Christ  Church, 
193)  236 

— election  of,  234-5,  289-90 

— duties  of,  237 

— exams  held  by,  239 

— letter  from  Bentley  to,  275-6 

— attend  funeral  of  Rev.  F.  Smylhies, 
280 

— number  of,  285 

— Plospitals  to  elect  their  own,  286-8 

— refuse  Corporation’s  nomination  for 
President,  288 

— list  of,  submitted  annually  to  Lord 
Mayor,  288-9 

— Common  Councilmen  appointed  ex 
officio,  289 

— right  to  elect  Almoners,  291 
Grafton,  Richard,  Treasurer,  22-3,  29, 

183,  303 

printing-press,  9,  58 

— — extract  from  Chronicle  of,  17-18 

— — house  of,  46 

Grammar  Master.  See  Head  Master 
Grammar  School,  27,  50,  65-98,  161, 
301 

rebuilt  by  Erasmus  Smith,  52-4 

demolished,  61 

rebuilt  by  John  Smith,  54 

in  1829,  64 

room  under  Mathematical  School 

used  for,  59 

disputes  with  Mathematical 

School,  65 


312 


INDEX 


Grammar  School,  number  of  boys,  66, 
73.  83.  93 

boys  transferred  to  Writing 

School,  72 

reorganisation  of,  72-3 

catechism  taught,  74-5 

examinations,  81,  238 

Governors  complain  of  Mount- 

fort’s  teaching,  82-3 

dearth  of  good  classical  boys, 

82-3 

age  limit  for  boys,  84 

head  boys  sent  to  the  University, 

85-6 

new  books  supplied,  87-8 

Lamb’s  description  of,  88-9 

boys  from  Hertford  to  supply 

vacancies,  90-2 

bad  management  of,  91 

anthems  composed  by  boys,  144 

Writing  School  uses  room  over, 

149 

drawing  taught  to  boys  of,  160 

Grammer,  John.  See  Vicars,  John 
Great  occasions,  boys  present  at  204-6 
Grecians,  origin  of  name,  83 

— taught  mathematics,  84-5 

— University  exhibitions  for,  94,  96-7 

— books  used  by,  96 

— Latin  speech  delivered  by,  96 

— allowed  to  wear  private  clothes 
during  vacations,  184 

Grecians’  cloister,  6 
Greek  class,  81,  83,  87 

number  of  boys  in,  86 

Green,  Mr.,  Surgeon,  80 

— John,  123 

Greenwich  Park,  trees  given  for,  103 
Greenwood,  Rev.  John,  Head  Master, 
92-3,  94,  277,  303 

Gresham,  Sir  R.,  proposal  to  use  hos- 
pitals for  relief  of  poor,  n-12 
Grey  Friars,  1-9 

foundation  of  fraternity,  1 

manual  of,  2 

reach  London,  3 

entertained  by  the  Dominicans,  3 

house  in  Cornhill,  3 

move  to  Stinking  Lane,  3 

John  Iwyn  joins  brotherhood 

of,  3 

monastery  built,  3-4 

converted  into  C.H.,  15-16, 

19-20 

original  site  of,  46 

last  of,  61 

benefactors,  4 

magnificence  and  wealth  of,  4-5 

library  founded  by  Sir  R.  Whit- 
tington, 5-6 


Grey  Friars,  library  endowed  by  Dr. 
Thomas  Winchelsea,  6 

Mayor’s  visit  to,  6 

plundered,  6-9 

deed  of  surrender  to  Henry 

VIII,  7-8 

fraternity  dissolved,  8-9 

used  as  a store-house,  8-9 

property  made  over  to  the  Cor- 
poration, 13 

See  also  Franciscans 

Grey  Friars,  300,  301 

shops  in,  58-9 

Grey  Friar’s  Church,  description  of,  4-5 

— — — re-opened,  and  named  Christ 
Church,  9 

printing-press  in,  9 

gallery  erected  for  “ Blues,” 

196 

damaged  by  Great  Fire,  196-7, 

209-10 

English  aristocracy  buried  at, 

228 

See  also  Christ  Church 

Grey  Friars  Court,  58 
Grey  Friars  Gate,  60 
Grey  Friars  Passage  to  be  kept  a 
thoroughfare,  61 
“Grey  Friars’  School,”  66-7 
Grice,  Richard,  283 
Grover,  Thomas,  sent  to  University,  86 
Guest  house  of  the  Franciscans,  57 
Guildhall,  Queen  Anne’s  visit  to,  205 

— reception  to  William  and  Mary,  205 

— Governors  of  C.H.  meet  at,  234-5 
Gunpowder  Plot,  holiday  to  com- 
memorate, 264 

sermon,  193 

dispute  over,  200 

Gunter,  Mr.,  his  stall  in  Cornhill,  35 
Guppy,  Robert,  beadle,  246 
Gutter,  Richard,  assistant  Writing 
Master,  147 

removed  to  Mathematical  School, 

147 

“Guyney  Company”  apply  for  ap- 
prentices, 283 
Gwyn,  Stephen,  283 
Gymnasium,  47,  265 

Haberdashers’  Company,  68 
Hadleigh,  property  bequeathed  to 
C.H.,  105 

Hales,  John,  Catechist,  75 
Halifax,  kerseys  purchased  from,  187 
Plall,  Lawrence,  appointed  organist  of 
Christ  Church,  143 
Hall,  the,  45,  5°,  3°i 

— destroyed  by  Fire,  55,  210 

— rebuilt  by  Sir  John  Frederick,  5S~6 


INDEX 


3i3 


Hall,  Verrio’s  picture  in,  56,  103,  133, 
134 

— organ,  56,  141-2 

to  be  re-erected  at  Horsham,  1 45 

— rebuilt  in  1825,  63 

— services  held  in,  94-5,  19*1  I95>  202 

— Drawing  Class  held  in,  160 

— the  girls5  table,  169 

— mourners  allowed  to  assemble  in, 
228 

— Public  Suppers,  232-4 

— whipping-post  erected,  262 

— method  of  seating,  262 
“Hall-Play,”  47,  48,  253,  255,  3°i 

— Grafton’s  printing-press  on  site  of,  9 

— Newgate  Street  frontage  secured,  60 

— Act  of  Parliament  for  enlarging,  60-2 
Halley,  Mr.,  109 

— his  report  rejected,  1 17 
“ Hally-Blags,”  231-2 
Hammond,  J.  L.,  95 
Hare,  Mr.,  report  of,  292 

Harper,  Dr.,  Principal  of  Jesus  College, 
Oxford,  95 

Plarris,  Renatus,  56,  200 

repairs  Hall  organ,  1 42 

dispute  with  the  Committee, 

i42-3 

blastings,  Warren,  a day-boy  at  C.H., 
66 

Hathaway,  Mr.,  master  at  Ware,  164 
Hawes,  Nathaniel,  Treasurer,  113,  170, 
273,  303 

in  trouble  with  Pepys,  1x3-14 

— — his  letter  to  Pepys,  116 

— reports  result  of  Trinity  House 
exam  to  Pepys,  117-18 

— Wm.,  175 

Hawkes,  Win.,  dismissed  from  Mathe- 
matical School,  107 
Hawkins,  John,  his  shop  in  C.H., 
2S3-4 

Hawksmoor,  Nicholas,  plans  for 
Writing  School,  15 1 
Hayne,  Rev.  Thomas,  Head  Master, 
69.  303 

buried  in  Christ  Church,  69 

Head  Master,  election,  69-70 
limited  power  of,  72,  79-80,  86, 

92,  97 

—  religious  duties,  74-9 

evening  sermon  in  Hall  preached 

by,  94-s 

salary  of,  277 

evolution  of  the  duties  of,  295-6 

list  of,  303 

Heatherly,  Rev.  Seawell,  Head  Master, 

88,  303 

Helmes,  Shadrach,  Head  Master,  66, 

93,  148,  207,  212,  301,  303 


Helmes,  Shadrach,  resignation,  73 

his  suggestion  to  the  Schools 

Committee,  73~4 

Henchman,  Rev.  Richard,  vicar  of 
Christ  Church,  199 

Henry  VIII,  Grey  Friars  plundered 
by,  6-9 

Christ  Church  founded  by,  9 

endeavours  to  obtain  payment 

for  St.  Bartholomew’s,  14 
Herne,  Ben,  185 
Hertford  School,  42,  155,  163-8 

— boys  sent  to  C.  H.  from,  85-6,  90-2 

— master’s  salary,  92 

— number  of  boys,  155,  164,  165 

— children  removed  from  Hoddesdon, 
164 

— children  removed  from  Ware,  165 

— school  rebuilt,  165 

— master’s  duties,  165-6 

— subjects  taught,  166 

— Governors’  annual  visit  and  ex- 
amination, 166-7 

— all  boys  first  sent  to,  167-8 

— boys  to  be  removed  to  Horsham,  168 

— to  be  used  entirely  for  girls,  168, 
1 7 1-2 

— old  clothes  sent  to,  188 

— boys  sent  to,  after  Great  Fire,  209 

— boys  elope  from,  260 

— proposed  demolition,  293 

— See  also  Girls’  School 
Hertford  stage-coach,  166 
Herwood,  Mr.,  Music  Master,  203 
Hewetts,  Aid.,  Governor,  22 
Hewlett,  James,  271 
Heywarde,  Mr.,  Governor,  23 
Hill,  Richarde,  Governor,  23 
Hoddesdon,  school  for  girls  at,  163-4 

— children  removed  to  Hertford,  164 
Hodson,  Mr.,  ill 

Hogg,  Captain,  123 
Holidays,  255,  264-5 
Honorius,  Pope,  Rule  of  St.  Francis 
confirmed  by,  2 
Horley,  vicar  of,  215-16 
Horsham,  West,  Sir  R.  Clayton’s  tablet 
removed  to,  55 

— foundation  stone  of  Hall  laid,  63 

— organ  from  great  Hall  reconstructed 
at,  145 

— Drawing  School  at,  161 

— boys  to  be  removed  from  Hertford, 
168 

— C.H.  to  be  removed  to,  293-4 

— new  regulations  for  boys,  294 
Horsham  Chapel,  organ  presented,  145 
Hospitals,  Royal,  foundation  of,  11-12 
Corporation  appointed  trustees, 

II-I2,  100,  285-6 


x 2 


3H 


INDEX 


Hospitals,  proposal  to  use  for  relief  of 
poor,  1 1 -i  2 

— indenture  of,  12-13 

— elections  of  the  Governors,  286-8 

— agreement  between  City  and  Gover- 
nors, 288-9 

— documents  sealed  by  City  Chamber- 
lain,  288-9 

— Common  Councilmen  appointed 
Governors  ex  officio,  289 

House  of  the  Poor.  See  St.  Bartholo- 
mew’s Hospital 
Howes,  Edmond,  136 

— John,  14,  135-6,  183 

his  connexion  with  C.  H. , 58 

house  of,  136 

Howes  family,  58 

Howlet,  Mrs.,  213-14 

Howley,  Bp.  of  London,  address  by,  63 

Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  283 

Humble,  Mr.,  bequest  193 

— Sir  Wm.,  200 

Hunt,  Leigh,  54,  89,  178-9,  182,  187, 
224 

, his  opinion  of  Rev.  James  Boyer, 

92 

Hunte,  Thomas,  Governor,  23 
Iiunter,  Mr.,  sends  list  of  navigation 
apprentices  to  Pepys,  1 1 7 
Hyde,  Mr.,  house  in  Little  Britain, 
212 

Hynde,  Mr.  Aid.,  14 

Ideson,  Anthonye,  cook  of  C.H.  24 
Indewurde,  Richarde  de,  2 
Indian  Navy,  boys  apprenticed  in,  284 
Infirmary,  site  of  old,  56 

— rebuilt,  60,  64 

— damaged  in  Great  Fire,  210 

— of  the  Franciscans,  57 

Innocent  III,  Vita  Fratrum  sanctioned 
by,  2 

Isabel,  Queen,  gift  to  Grey  Friars,  4 

tomb  of,  5 

“ Islington  Fields,”  263 
Iwyn,  John,  gift  to  Grey  Friars,  3 
joins  brotherhood  of,  3 

Jacob,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  A.,  Head  Master, 
277.  295.  303 

dispute  with,  97 

his  abilities  as  a teacher,  97-8 

resignation,  237 

— — preaches  on  St.  Matthew’s  day, 
237 

James,  Wm.,  Writing  Master,  148 

misconduct,  148 

dismissed,  148-9,  21 1 

Jarveis,  Aid.,  Governor,  22 
Jebb,  Sir  Richard,  274,  275 


Jenkins,  Rev.  Wm.,  198 
Joan  of  the  Tower,  Queen  of  Scotland, 
tomb  of,  5 

“John  Company,”  apprentices  rise  to 
eminence,  13 1 
Jourdaine,  Mr.,  215 
Judd,  Sir  Andrew,  President,  22,  302 
Jurin,  James,  274 

his  success  at  college,  275 

President  of  Royal  College  of 

Physicians,  275 

head  master  of  Newcastle  Gram- 
mar School,  276 

Governors’  grant  for  travel,  276 

Kersey,  reason  of  its  colour,  187 
Keymer,  nurse  at  Ware,  164-5 
Kang,  John,  Bp.  of  London,  220 
King  Edward  Street,  208 
King’s  Boys.  See  Mathematical  School 
King’s  Ward,  site  of,  60 
Kirke,  Thomas,  speech  of,  239 
Kitchen,  300 

— of  the  Franciscans,  57 

— damaged  in  Great  Fire,  210 

Lamb,  Charles,  54,  88-9,  178 
Lanesborough,  Viscount,  bequest,  132 
Languages,  modern,  suggestion  to 
teach,  161-2 

Latimer,  Bp.,  proposal  about  monas- 
teries, 11 

Latin  Oration,  Mountfort  requested  to 
prepare,  82 

delivered  by  a Grecian,  96 

— Testament,  given  to  Mathematical 
boys,  125 

Launce,  Mr.,  a “divine,”  69-70 
Lazar  houses  in  the  country,  38-9 
Lazars,  gifts  to,  19 

Leake,  Dr.,  Mathematical  Master,  59, 
106-7 

— dismissed,  107-8 
‘ ‘ Leave  ” days,  264 

Leaver,  Thomas,  his  sermon  about  the 
poor,  16 

Lee,  Benjamin,  his  excesses  at  college, 
272 

sent  to  Cambridge,  273 

debts  paid  by  Governors,  273 

committed  to  Wood  Street 

Compter,  273 

apprenticed  on  a ship,  273 

— Rev.  Richard,  Head  Master,  98, 
277,  295.  303 

— — number  of  exhibitions  gained 
by  his  boys,  98 

Leesney  Abbey  estate,  Charles  II 
demands  trees  from,  103 
Lens,  Mr.,  Drawing  Master,  160 


INDEX  315 


Lenten  Suppers.  See  Public  Suppers 
Letters  Patent  of  Charles  II  for  Mathe- 
matical School,  1 00- 1 
Liddell,  Dean,  293 
Linwood,  Samuel,  119 

composes  Spital  Psalm,  226 

“Lion”  sermon  at  St.  Catherine  Cree 
Church,  193 
Little  Britain,  48 
Little  Cloister,  57 

Livery  Companies,  Wardens  to  ap- 
prentice C.H.  boys,  282 
Locke,  Thomas,  Governor,  23 
Lockhart,  A.  W.,  Steward,  36,  66-8, 
179-80,  267 

Lodge,  Thomas, Aid., Governor,  14,  22 
Lodge,  masters  appointed  to  look  after, 
244 

— beer  supplied  at  the,  245 
London,  Bp.  of,  dispute  with  the  Cor- 
poration, 220 

preachers  at  St.  Paul’s  Cross 

nominated  by,  220 
London,  Corporation  of.  See  Corpora- 
tion of  London 

London  School  Board,  right  to  elect  Al- 
moners, 291 

London  University,  right  to  elect  one 
Almoner,  291 

Long  Walk,  48,  62,  252,  300 
Longley,  Sir  Henry,  293 
Lonne,  Aid.,  governor,  23 
Loquet,  Zachary,  offer  to  endow  a 
French  class,  161 

Lord  Mayor,  right  of  presentation, 
43 

Easter  gift  to  boys,  224-5 

his  right  to  elect  Almoners,  291 

Lord  Mayor’s  Day  holiday,  264 
Lorrain,  Mrs.,  schoolmistress,  dis- 
missed, 169-70 

— Paul,  169 
Lotteries,  240-2 

— tickets  drawn  by  “Blues,”  240-2 

— method  of  drawing  tickets,  242 

— boys  tampered  with,  242 
Lowes,  Thomas,  master,  24 

Lucas,  Thomas,  “ mazon  scourer”  of 
C.H.,  25 

Maine,  Sir  IT.  S.,  95,  271 
Malpas,  Philip,  Sheriff,  endowment 
for  Spital  sermons,  217 
Mansfield,  James,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  74,  303 

censured  for  giving  holiday  to 

boys,  79 

Mansion  House,  boys  at,  204,  224-5 
Margaret,  Queen,  gift  to  Grey  Friars,  4 
tomb  of,  5 


“ Markers,”  boys  proficient  in  reading 
called,  156-7,  158 

— medal  worn  by,  157 
Markland,  Jeremiah,  269,  274 
Marshall,  Rev.  Hamlet,  139 
Martin,  Joseph,  Translator,  189 

— Wm. , surgeon,  206 

Mary,  Queen,  address  presented  to, 
204 

Mary  n,  Queen,  at  Guildhall,  205 
Mason,  Thomas,  butler  of  C.H.,  24 
Massey,  Rev.  Edmond,  censured  for 
non-residence,  281 
Masters,  apartments,  49 

— receive  private  pupils,  66,  93-4,  106, 
107,  141 

— not  allowed  to  teach  Town  children, 
72-3 

— duties,  74,  78,  137-8,  165-6 

— fined  for  absence  during  catechism, 
75 

— high  standard  required  of  mathe- 
matical, 108 

— not  allowed  to  marry,  137,  140,  141, 
154 

— to  attend  Christ  Church  on  Sundays, 

150 

— dismissed  after  Great  Fire,  21 1 

— appointed  to  look  after  the  Lodge, 
244 

— appointed  to  benefices,  277,  282 
Mathematical  School,  Royal,  59-60, 

85.  99-134,  136-7,  161 
site  of,  59 

exclusiveness  of  the  boys,  59-60 

rebuilt  in  1829,  64 

disputes  with  Grammar  School, 

65 

bequests,  84,  105 

badge  worn  by  boys,  101,  103, 

132-3,  261,  263 

— — boys  apprenticed  to  captains,  102 

apprenticeship  premiums,  104 

unlucky  in  its  masters,  106,  107-8 

subjects  taught,  108-9,  ni-12, 

129,  158,  160 

books  used,  109,  129 

astronomical  observations  made, 

no 

non-efficient  state  of  boys,  in, 

121 

• Pepys’  interest  in,  1 13-21 

plan  of  reorganisation,  116- 

18 

letter  respecting  bad  manage- 
ment of,  118-19 

Trinity  Plouse,  examination,  11 7- 

18 

examinations,  120,  238 

system  of  education,  in,  123-5 


INDEX 


316 


Mathematical  School,  applications  from 
captains  for  apprentices,  122,  127 

Isaac  Newton’s  advice,  123 

models  of  ships  purchased,  123 

high  classical  standard  main- 
tained, 125 

new  books  and  charts  adopted, 

127 

bad  behaviour  of  boys,  128, 

275-60 

scattered  to  other  wards,  128 

age  of  boys  entering,  129 

Charity  Commissioners’  report 

(1837),  129-30 

number  of  apprentices  sent  to 

sea,  130 

premiums  paid,  130-1 

foundations  amalgamated,  132 

sons  of  Naval  officers  eligible  for, 

132 

annual  visit  of  boys  to  Court, 

133 

“fags”  employed  by,  257-8 

boys  punished  by  banishment  to 

Writing  School,  260 

boys  apprenticed  in  the  Indian 

Navy,  284 

Matron’s  House,  49,  301 
Meacocke,  Wm.,  Music  Master,  136 
Meals,  public  admitted  on  Sunday,  177 

— portions  not  excessive,  178-9 

— improvement  in,  179-80 

— dinner  provided  by  Sir  John  Gayer, 
194 

— hour  of,  251 

— children’s  names  read  over  at,  251 

— punishment  by  degradation  at  table, 
260 

— presided  over  by  the  Steward,  263 
Medical  treatment,  298-9 

Menu,  daily  (old),  176-7;  (modern),  180 
Merchant  Service,  number  of  boys 
entering,  13 1 

Merchant  Taylors’  Company,  138 
Merchants’  class,  150 
Merttins,  Sir  Geo. , President,  302 

Treasurer,  86,  303 

Merynge,  Alex.,  Mercer,  35 
Middle  Cloister.  See  Grecians’  Cloister. 
Midgley,  Mr.,  270 

Moivre,  de,  Mathematical  examiner,  238 
Monasteries,  area  occupied  in  the  City, 
by,  io-ii 

— sick  and  poor  relieved  by,  10-11 
Monitors,  157,  260 

— responsibilities  of,  262 

— Steward  appoints,  264 

Moore,  Sir  John,  president,  288,  302 

Writing  School  erected  by,  1491 

1 50- 1 


Moore,  Sir  John,  statue  carved  by 
Grinling  Gibbons,  152-3 

bequest,  253 

— Sir  Jonas,  1 00,  287 

his  books  used  in  Mathematical 

School,  106,  109 

death,  109 

Moorgate  Coffee  House,  167 
Moreton,  Dr.,  wall  repaired  by,  58 
Morgan,  Mr.  Aid.  Vaughan,  Treasurer, 
296,  303 

director  of  Hudson’s  Bay  Com- 
pany, 283 

Morris,  Daniel,  portrait  of,  50 
helps  to  rebuild  south  front  of 

C.H.,55 

Moses,  Mr.  Serjeant  Wm.,  226 

bequest,  270-1,  277 

burial,  230 

Mountfort,  Rev.  Samuel,  Upper  Gram- 
mar Master,  72,  73,  152,  202,  257, 
303 

duties  of,  74 

absentees  from  catechism  before, 

77 

Governors  complain  of  his  teach- 
ing, 82 

requested  to  prepare  Latin  Ora- 
tion, 82 

his  child  christened  at  Christ 

Church,  1 19 

composes  Spital  Psalm,  226 

resignation,  277 

Music  School,  26,  27,  135—45,  161, 
228 

master,  24,  26,  135-6 

his  salary,  136-7 

qualifications,  137 

house,  137 

duties,  137-8 

not  allowed  to  marry,  137, 

140,  141 

allowed  to  take  extra  pupils, 


Hi 

children  attend  burials,  136 

Dow’s  bequest,  136-71  138-9 

subjects  taught,  137,  138,  144 

inspected  by  the  Governors, 

137-8,  139 

gloves  supplied  to  boys,  138 

instruments  purchased,  138 

books  used,  138 

Christ  Church  organist  selected 


from,  143  . 

anthem  sung  at  opening  of 

Writing  School,  152 

Spital  Psalms  sung,  225-7 

boys  attend  Christ  Church  choir, 


202-3 


INDEX 


3 1 7 


“Naggs  Head,”  Islington,  children 
lodged  at,  209 

Names  of  boys  called  each  night,  251 
262 

Nash,  Rev.  F.  G.,  vicar  of  Clavering, 
204 

Navigation  Class.  See  Mathematical 
School 

Needlework,  girls  taught,  170-1 
New  Abbey,  Tower  Hill,  proposal  to 
use  for  relief  of  poor,  1 1 
New  England  Coffee  House,  262,  263 
New  Fish  Street,  208 
“ New  Parlour,”  57 
New  Year’s  Day,  Mathematical  boys 
presented  at  Court,  133-4 
Newce,  Clement,  Aid.,  Governor,  23 
Newgate  prisoners  buried  in  C.H. 

Churchyard,  62 
Newgate  Market,  58 
Newgate  Street  frontage  secured,  60 

gateway,  45 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  118-9,  272,  274 

justifies  his  recommendation  of 

Mathematical  Master,  120 

letter  relating  to  Mathematical 

School,  123-4 

appointed  Governor,  124,  287 

— Samuel,  Mathematical  Master,  120 
resignation,  121 

revises  Synopsis  A Igcbraica,  125-6 

— — dispute  with  Mr.  Lens,  160 
Norris,  Richard,  unsuccessful  candidate 

for  Mathematical  mastership,  112-13 

his  threat  against  Pagett,  1 12-13 

Nowell,  Dean  of  St.  Paul’s,  his 
Catechism,  77, 

appointed  examiner,  238 

Nurses  at  C.H.,  174,  249-51 

— salaries,  249 

— dress,  250 

— duties,  250-1 

— number  of,  243 

Officers  appointed,  22 

— list  of,  24-6 

— private  rooms,  49 

— houses  rebuilt,  52 

— fined  for  absence  during  catechism, 
75 

— salaries,  92-3 

— dismissed  after  Great  Fire,  21 1 
Offley,  Mr.,  58,  301 

Olyve,  Sir  John,  Aid.,  Governor,  22 
“ Order  of  the  Hospitalls,”  235-6,  237, 
244 

Organ  in  Christ  Church,  138,  139 

— Parker’s  bequest,  139,  143 

— removed  to  please  the  Puritans,  203 

— in  Hall,  presented  by  Skelton,  56 


Organ  in  Hall  built  by  Mr.  Dallum, 
1 4 1-2 

to  be  removed  to  Plorsham,  145 

Organist  appointed  at  Christ  Church, 
143 

Oxford,  Franciscan  settlement  at,  5 
Oxford  University,  right  to  elect  one 
Almoner,  291 

Pagett,  Edward,  Mathematical  Master, 
112-13,  134 

obtains  leave  of  absence,  1 13, 

118-20 

neglect  of  duty,  118-19 

journey  to  Flanders,  119 

resignation,  120 

Spital  Psalm,  226 

objects  to  boys  attending  lotteries, 

240-1 

Palmer,  James,  Treasurer,  61,  303 
Pancras  Lane,  property  purchased,  214 
Parker,  John,  appointed  incumbent  of 
Clavering,  277-8 

— Wm.,  bequest  for  organ  instruction, 
139.  !43>  2o2-3 

Parr,  Dr.  Samuel,  Spital  Preacher,  222 
Parrey,  Wm.,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 
1 14,  152,  212,  245,  300,  304 
presents  his  account,  115 

— — report  on  navigation  apprentices, 
126 

censured  for  not  attending  church, 

202 

invitation  to  Stretchley’s  funeral 

signed  by,  229 

Paul’s  Cross,  boys  report  sermons  at,  78 

sermons  at,  217 

discontinued,  219 

seats  round,  218 

preachers  nominated  by  Bp.  of 

London,  220 

— — beadles’  duties  during  sermon,  235 
Peel,  Sir  Robert,  donation  of,  62 
Peele,  James,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 

304 

Peirce,  Thomas,  music  master,  140 
Pemberton,  Mr.,  tuck-shop  kept  by,  181 
Pembroke,  Countess  of,  bequest,  4 
Pembroke  College,  Cambridge,  exhibi- 
tions to,  94,  96,  271 

Mr.  Moses  buried  at,  230 

Penn,  Rev.  James,  Reading  School  im- 
provements scheme,  155-6 
Pepys,  Samuel,  83,  106,  108,  no,  144, 
221-2,  254 

Verrio’s  picture  painted  at  in- 
stigation of,  56,  133 

his  interest  in  Mathematical 

School,  100,  104-5,  11 3-2 1 
obtains  grant  from  Admiralty,  104 


INDEX 


3i8 

Pepys,  Samuel,  plan  of  re-organisation, 
1 16-18 

asks  to  see  Colwall’s  will,  105 

correspondence  with  N.  Hawes, 

1 13-14 

questions  asked  by  114-15 

discussed  by  Committee, 

US-17 

delay  in  answering,  118 

his  letters  in  the  British  Museum, 

1 16 

— • — plan  respecting  Stone’s  bequest, 
116,  1 17,  118 

complains  of  method  of  examina- 
tions, 116-17 

wishes  for  a private  visitation  of 

children,  117 

suggests  “going  to  Court,”  133 

advice  as  to  Drawing  School,  159 

his  opinion  of  Rev.  C.  Sanckey, 

278-9 

appointed  Governor,  287 

Perkins,  George,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  71.  74,  93,  3°3 

— Peter,  Mathematical  Master,  109, 
271 

his  dispute  with  the  nurse,  109-10 

death,  109,  1 10 

Perry,  Micajah,  Boyer’s  Governor,  88 
Peterhouse,  Cambridge,  272 

Dame  Ramsey’s  scholarships, 

etc.,  at,  268-9 

provisions  not  carried  out,  269 

dispute  with  C.H.,  269-70 

Peterson,  Wm.,  Governor,  23 
Pett,  Mr.,  Commissioner,  126 
Petticoat.  See  Kersey 
Petties,  or  Petites  A.B.C.,  masters  for 
the,  24,  26,  37,  146,  153 

— See  Reading  School,  Writing  School 
Philippa,  wife  of  Edward  III,  gift  to 

Grey  Friars,  4 
Phillips,  John,  porter,  245 
Physician,  resident,  298-9 
Pickering,  Mr.,  254 
Pickes,  Jonathan,  Writing  Master,  147, 
301 

Pigeon,  R.  H.,  Treasurer,  172,  303 
Pincock  Lane,  208 

Pins,  large  number  used  at  C.II.,  186 

Place  House.  See  Ware 

Plague  ( 1 603)  among  the  children,  206-8 

— (1665),  small  number  of  deaths  in 
C.H.,  207 

Poor,  relief  of,  16-20 

— number  of,  in  the  City,  20 

— public  subscription  raised  by  Mayor, 
20-1 

— receive  relief  from  C.  H. , 28 
Poor  Tax  Act,  34 


Porters  apply  for  leave  to  sell  beer, 
245-6 

— room,  301 

Portraits,  Thomas  Barnes,  193 

— James  Palmer,  61 

— Thomas  Poynder,  61 

— Captain  Shea,  131 

— Erasmus  Smith,  53 

Postmen’s  Park,  opened  to  the  public, 
62 

Povey,  Mr.,  letter  to  Pepys,  no 
Poynder,  Thomas,  Treasurer,  61,  303 
Poynts,  Mr.,  209 

Prayer  Book,  used  as  a reading  book, 
157-8 

Prayers  composed  by  Bp.  Compton, 
78-9 

— said  thrice  daily,  78-9 
Presentation,  right  of,  43 
President,  Corporation’s  nominee  re- 
jected, 288 

Presidents,  list  of,  302 
Prestman,  John,  27,  268 
Price,  Sampson,  vicar  of  Christ  Church 
69-70 

“ Pricksonge.”  See  Music  School 
Prince,  Mr.,  Reading  examiner,  157 
Psalms  sung  by  boys  at  Spital  cere- 
monies, 225-7 

— composed,  226-7 

Public  Lotteries.  See  Lotteries 

— Suppers,  153,  177,  232-4 
Pudding  Lane,  208,  21 1 
“Pudding  Pyes,”  175-6 
Pump,  the,  48-9,  185 
Punishments,  80,  87,  164,  257,  258-61, 

265 

Pye  Corner,  210,  21 1 

Quadrangle,  used  as  burial  ground,  57 
Queens’  College,  Cambridge,  280 

Ramsey,  Lady,  136,  146-7,  149,  296 

bequest,  192-3,  268,  277 

provisions  of,  not  carried  out, 

269-70 

— Sir  Thomas,  Lord  Mayor,  146,  302 
Ratfford,  John,  35 

Ravenscroft,  Mr.,  Music  Master,  140 
Rawlyns,  Wm.,  Grocer,  14 
Raymond,  Sir  Jonathan,  bequest,  164 
Reading  School,  136-7,  153-8,  16 1 

masters  not  allowed  to  marry, 

>54 

master’s  salary,  154 

number  of  boys,  154 

boys  badly  taught,  155 

Barnes’  bequest,  155 

falls  into  disuse,  155 


INDEX 


3*9 


Reading  School,  Penn’s  scheme  for 
improvement,  155-6 

examination  by  Governors,  1 57, 

239 

books  used,  158 

Recantation,  form  of,  258,  261-2 
Receiver  of  C.H.,  92,  115 
Recorder,  right  of  presentation,  43 
Recreation,  243-66 

Reeve,  Mr.,  Receiver  of  C.  H. , 105,  116 

— presents  his  account,  115 

— sends  new  list  of  Governors  to 
Pepys,  1 17 

Reform,  285-97 
Reformation  Sermon,  193 
Regulations  of  C.  H. , 41-4 
Religion,  doctrine  of  the  Church  of 
England  taught,  75 

— daily  prayers  said,  78 

Rice,  Rev.  Dr.  Edward,  Upper 
Grammar  Master,  92-3,  94,  277,  303 

eminent  pupils  of,  95 

ability  as  a teacher,  95-6 

appointed  vicar  of  Horley,  282 

buried  in  C.H.,  57 

Richmond,  Earl  of,  gift  to  Grey  Friars,  4 
Ridley,  Bp.,  pleads  for  the  sick,  etc., 
11 

proposals  for  relief  of  the  poor, 

16-20,  28-9 

Robinson,  Mother,  nurse  at  C.H. , 128. 
Robson,  Rebeckah,  nurse  at  C.H., 
249-50 

Robynson,  John,  first  Grammar  Master, 

24.  37.  65,  303 

Roe,  Sir  Thomas,  Aid.,  first  Treasurer 
of  C.H.,  22,  303 
Routine,  daily,  at  C.H.,  250-1 
Rowing  club,  265 

Royal  Marines,  sons  of  officers  ad- 
mitted to  C.H.,  132 
Royal  Naval  Reserve,  boys  joining,  131 

, sons  of  officers  admitted  to 

C.H.,  132 

Royal  Navy,  number  of  boys  entering, 

131 

sons  of  officers  admitted  to  C.H., 

132 

Russell,  Admiral,  122 
“ Russia  Drab.”  See  Breeches 

Saepschead,  John,  porter  of  C.H.,  24 
St.  Bartholomew’s  the  Great,  Lecturer, 
197 

“ Blues”  attend,  197 

St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital,  192,  199 

proposal  to  use  for  relief  of  poor, 

II 

made  over  to  the  Corporation,  13 

value  of,  13-14 


St.  Bartholomew’s  Plospital,  Henry 
VIII  endeavours  to  make  the  Cor- 
poration pay  for,  14 

■ visited  by  the  Corporation,  14 

crowded  state  of,  16 

appeal  for  funds,  16-17 

lepers  cared  for  by,  39 

presentation  granted  to  Treasurer 

of,  43 

• bargain  with  C.H.  about  New- 

gate Street  frontage,  60 

exchange  land  with  C.H.,  64 

St.  Bride’s,  Fleet  Street,  Spital  sermons 
preached  at,  219,  223 
St.  Catherine  Cree  Church,  “ Lion  ” 
sermon  at,  193 

St.  Ewen’s  Church  amalgamated  with 
Christ  Church,  13 
St.  Francis,  birth,  1 

Chapel  in  Grey  Friars’  Church 

to,  5 

— — objection  to  learning,  5 
St.  George’s  Hospital,  proposal  to  use 
for  relief  of  poor,  11 
St.  Mary  Spital,  sermons,  217 

sermons  discontinued,  219 

cross,  218 

bad  accommodation,  218 

St.  Matthew’s  Day,  234-40 

Latin  speech  delivered  by  a 

Grecian,  96,  238-40 

Governors  elected,  234-5,  288 

beadles  re-elected,  236 

sermon,  236 

speeches,  238-40 

exams  held  on,  238-9 

“the  glove ” on,  240 

St.  Nicholas  Shambles,  amalgamated 
with  Christ  Church,  13 

“new  frame”  in,  15 

St.  Paul’s  Cathedral,  Sunday  morning 
preachers  paid  by  Corporation,  221 
St.  Sepulchre,  part  of  parish  amalga- 
mated with  Christ  Church  13 

Church  destroyed  in  Great  Fire,  210 

St.  Thomas’s  Hospital,  proposal  to  use 
for  relief  of  poor,  11,  19 

land  transferred  from  C.H.  to,  21 

early  accounts,  30 

Salaries  of  Officers,  92-3 
Salisbury,  Thomas,  a “divine,”  69-70 
Sampson,  John,  Reading  Master,  74, 
*55 

Sanckey,  Rev.  Clement,  appointed  in- 
cumbent of  Gainscolne,  278 

resigns,  279 

Pepys’  opinion  of,  278-9 

Savoy,  revenues  of,  granted  to  C.H., 
29 

Scarborough,  Sir  Charles,  106 


320 


INDEX 


Scholefield,  Professor,  92 
School’s  buildings,  45-64,  300-1 
Schools  committee,  plan  of,  72-3 

Helmes’  suggestion,  73-4 

report  on  the  Mathematical 

School,  108-9 

consider  Pepys’  queries,  114-17 

Scott,  Robert,  a publisher,  106 
Sea-coal  house,  301 
Seamer,  Jeames,  usher  of  C.H.,  24 
Searle,  Dr.,  95 

Seaton,  John,  beadle  at  C.H.,  236 
Selby,  Rev.  Peter,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  87,  303 

new  class  books  prepared  by,  87-8 

appointed  Vicar  of  Clavering,  88 

Sempar,  Humphry,  Music  Master,  140 
Sermons  reported  by  boys  at  Paul’s 
Cross,  78 

Services  “pricked”  by  Farrant,  138 
Sexton  at  Christ  Church,  25 
Sharfield,  Mrs.,  213 
Shaving  house  of  the  Franciscans,  57 
Shea,  Captain,  portrait  in  Court  Room, 

13? 

Sheridan,  T.,  letter  to  S.  Pepys,  no 
Shering,  Rev.  Edmund,  vicar  of  Christ 
Church,  199,  237 

dispute  over  Gunpowder  Plot 

sermon,  200 

funeral,  228-9 

Shoe-maker’s  yard,  301 
“Shoe-room,”  49,  301 
Shoes,  cost  of,  188-9 

— high-heeled,  worn  by  girls,  190 
Shops  in  Long  Walk,  48 

— in  Grey  Friars  Court,  58-9 

— in  C.H.,  252,  253 

— demolished,  253 

— rules  for  tenants,  253-4 

Shoulor,  Mr.,  “Blues  ’’attend  funeral 
of,  228 

Sick  ward,  39-40,  177,  298-9.  See 
also  Infirmary 

Simpson,  Mr.,  not  allowed  to  keep  a 
tuck-shop,  181 

“Sixes”  corner,  49,  300,  301 
Skellingthorpe  Manor,  bequeathed  to 
C.H.,  105 

Skelton,  Mr.,  organ  presented  by,  56 

Slaughter-houses,  206,  208 

Sloane,  Sir  Hans,  298 

Smith, Mr.,  a Charity  Commissioner,  129 

— Christian,  organ  maker,  142 

— Erasmus,  50 

design  for  rebuilding  school,  52-4 

bequests,  52-5 

portrait,  53 

wishes  school  to  be  used  for 

public  worship,  54 


Smith,  Erasmus,  offer  to  provide  more 
accommodation  for  children,  54 

— John,  Writing  Master,  74,  79,  149, 
150,  152,  158-9 

Grammar  school  erected  by,  54 

— Roger,  sent  to  Cambridge,  68-9 

— Thomas,  prepares  Warren  Hastings 
for  H.E.I.C.,  66 

Smith’s  shop  in  C.H.,  56 
Smoothing,  Wm.,  steward  of  C.H.,  24 
Smythies,  Rev.  Ferdinand,  279 

account  of  his  funeral,  279-81 

bequest,  280 

will,  280-1 

Soley,  Francis,  Reading  Master,  154 
Song  School.  See  Music  School 
Speech  Day.  See  St.  Matthew’s  Day 
Speeches  by  Grecians,  96,  238-40 
Spital  Sermons,  217-27 

children  attend,  29,  183,  218 

discontinued  at  Paul’s  Cross,  219 

continued  at  St.  Bride’s,  Fleet 

Street,  219,  223 

afterwards  at  Christ  Church,  219 

preacher  nominated  by  the  Cor- 
poration, 220-1 

sanctioned  by  Parliament,  221 

length  of,  221-2 

Psalms  composed  and  sung  by 

the  boys,  225-7 
Stable  Yard,  60 
Staff,  list  of  first,  37 
Staples,  John,  barber  of  C.H.,  24 
Stephens,  Rev.  L.  P.,  276 
Steward,  92 

— duties  of,  175,  263-4 
Stinking  Lane,  3-4 

Stock,  John,  badge  worn  by  boys  of 
his  foundation,  132-3 
Stockings,  187,  188 
Stone,  Henry,  bequest,  105 

Pepys’  plan  respecting,  116, 

1 17,  1 18 

badge  worn  by  boys  of  his  founda- 
tion, 132 

— Thomas,  beadle,  219 
Stretchley,  Thomas,  form  of  invitation 

to  his  funeral,  229 

Sturt,  Mr.,  contracts  for  “pudding- 
pyes,”  175-6 
Summer  holiday,  265 
Suppers,  Public.  See  Public  Suppers 
Surgeon,  the,  24,  25,  65,  80 
Sussex,  Lady  Anne,  funeral,  230 
Symondes,  Peter,  bequest,  231-2 
Synopsis  A Igebraica,  by  Brewster,  125-6 

Tadlowe,  George,  Haberdasher,  14 
Tailor’s  shop,  170 
Tapestry  making  taught,  170 


INDEX  321 


Temple,  Dr.,  Archbp.  of  Canterbury, 
292 

Tench,  Mr.,  144 
Tew,  Edmond,  bequest,  85 
Theame,  Mrs.,  her  shop  in  the  cloisters, 
252 

Thompson,  D’Arcy,  95 

— David,  283 

— Wm.,  President,  302 

at  opening  of  new  Hall,  64 

amount  of  Lord  Mayor’s  gifts  to 

boys  increased  by,  225 
Timberlake,  Luke,  53-4 
Times,  The,  newspaper,  92,  293 
Toedlowe,  George,  Governor,  23 
Toilet,  Mr.,  Mathematical  boys  ex- 
amined by,  120 

Town  children  taught  in  Grammar 
School,  66 

masters  not  allowed  to  teach,  72-3 

Townley,  Rev.  James,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  78,  88,  303 
proposed  improvements  in  Read- 
ing School,  155-6 

Train-bands,  led  through  City  by  C.H. 
boys,  99 

Translator  or  Cobbler,  children’s  shoes 
made  by,  189 

Travers,  John,  Sheriff  of  London,  3 

— Samuel,  bequest  to  Mathematical 
School,  84 

boys  of  his  foundation  wear  a 

buckle,  132 

Treasurer,  first  appointed,  22 

— books  ordered  through,  86 

— list  of,  303 

Treasurer’s  House,  47,  52,  300 

destroyed  by  the  Fire,  51-2,  210 

Trigg,  Thomas,  bequest,  84 
Trinity  House,  examination,  117-18, 
121,  130,  257-8 

Trollope,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  W.,  Upper 
Grammar  Master,  92,  277,  303 

— Rev.  W. , History  of  C.H,  5,  el passim 
Tuck-shop,  180-2 

profits  shared  by  beadles,  181 

Tuthill  Street,  Westminster,  213 

Ugley  Vicarage,  89,  277 
Universities,  exhibitions  to,  27,  94, 
96-7,  98,  146,  209,  268,  270-1 

— number  of  boys  sent  to,  82,  215 

— boys  specially  prepared  for,  84-6, 
267-84 

— two  head  boys  sent  from  Grammar 
School,  85-6 

— Governors’  generosity  to  exhibi- 
tioners, 271,  272,  273-4 

— exhibitioners  on  leaving  appointed 
masters  at  C.H. , 276-7 


Verrio,  painting  in  Ilall  by,  56,  i°3> 
133.  134 
Vicarage,  1 92 

Vicars,  Agnes,  foster-mother  to  John 
Vicars,  71 

— John,  70-1,  76,  214-15,  276 
unsuccessful  candidate  for  Upper 

Grammar  Mastership,  69-70 

given  name  of  John  Grammer,  71 

buried  in  C.H.,  71 

Vickers,  John,  Governor,  23,  24,  25 
Victoria,  Queen,  address  presented  to, 
204 

Vines,  Richard,  Spital  Preacher,  219 
Violin,  taught  in  Music  School,  144 
“Virginalls”  purchased  for  Music 
School,  138 

Visitation  of  schools,  116,  123-4 
Vita  Fratrum,  manual  of  Grey  Friars,  2 
Vocabulary  class,  81 

Waddington,  Ralph,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  65,  68,  303 

receives  private  pupils,  66-9 

epitaph,  67-8 

resignation,  69 

Waed,  Guye,  Aid.,  Governor,  22 
Wale,  Mrs.  Margaret,  bequest,  76,  214 
Wales,  Wm.,  Mathematical  Master, 
126,  127 

Walks,  boys  allowed  to  go  for,  263 
Walpole,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Robert,  a pre- 
sentation granted  to,  43 
Walter,  Mr.  John,  of  The  Times,  293 
Walters,  Thomas,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  69-70,  303 

Warburton,  Bp.,  Spital  Preacher,  222-3 
Warden,  duties  of,  264 
Wardrobe,  49,  50 

— keeper,  187-8 

Wards,  proposal  to  build  additional, 
54-5 

— “Bacon’s  Wards”  erected,  61  ; de- 
molished, 63 

— rebuilt,  64,  210 

— Bible  reading  in,  156-7 
Ware,  school  at,  40,  163,  165,  209 

— examinations,  164 

— number  of  boys,  164 

— Raymond’s  bequest,  164 

— subjects  taught,  165 

— children  removed  to  Hertford,  165 
Washhouse,  300 

Washing  accommodation,  251,  253 

Wasse,  John,  brewer,  25 

Watkins,  Richard,  Music  Master,  140-1 

resignation,  141 

Watson,  John,  Writing  Master,  24,  26, 
30,  135 

clerk  to  the  Governors,  304 


322 


INDEX 


Watts,  Rev.  Dr.,  281 
Waynman,  Humphry,  Writing  Master, 
207 

Webster,  Rev.  W.,  Mathematical 
Master,  94,  129 

Wehe,  Dr.  Theod.,  German  Master,  162 
Well  Yard,  30 1 

Whalley,  Rev.  Peter,  Upper  Grammar 
Master,  88,  303 

address  to  Geo.  Ill  written  by, 

205 

appointed  vicar  of  Ilorley,  282 

Wheeler,  Sir  Francis,  tribute  paid  to 
mathematical  instruction  at  C.  H. , 1 22 
Whichcote,  Benjamin,  72,  278 
Whip  used  for  punishment,  262 
Whipping-post  erected  in  Hall,  262 
“ White  Chapell  Bars,”  230 
Whittington,  Sir  R.,  library  built  by, 
5-6,  50,  301 

Whytchurch,  Edward,  23 
Wicart,  Dean  of  Winchester,  1 19  {note) 
Wickins,  Mr.,  Steward  at  C.H.,  76,213 
William  III,  defeated  at  Steenkirk,  119 

at  Guildhall,  205 

Williams,  Dr.  John,  classical  examiner, 
80-1 

Winchelsea,  Dr.  Thomas,  gift  to  Grey 
Friars,  6 

Wolsey,  Cardinal,  Grey  Friars  visited 
by,  6-9 

Wood,  Dr.,  Mathematical  Master,  no- 
li 

resignation,  1 12 

Wood  Street  Compter,  139,  273 
Wooden  trenchers,  food  served  on,  179 


Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  13,  160,  196 

— — responsible  for  plans  of  new 
Writing  School,  150 

south  side  of  C.H.  rebuilt  by,  55 

advice  as  to  Drawing  School,  159 

rebuilds  Christ  Church,  197-8 

north  wall  of  Christ  Church 

given  to  C.H.  by,  199-200 
Wright,  Mr.,  Steward,  74 

— Paul,  258,  261 

Writing  School,  26,  27,  47,  72,  84,  86, 
1 12,  136,  146-53,  161,  239,  253,  300 
rebuilt,  82 

founded  by  Dame  Ramsey,  146-7 

erected  by  Sir  John  Moore,  149, 

1 50- 1 

Merchant’s  class  instituted,  150 

designed  by  Nicholas  Hawks- 
moor, 150 

master’s  house,  1 5 1 

opening  ceremony,  151-2 

Sir  John  Moore’s  statue,  152 

drawing  taught,  158,  159,  160 

Sir  John  Moore’s  bequest  to,  253 

boys  apprenticed  to  trade  on 

leaving,  282 

Wrottesley,  Mr.,  Charity  Commis- 
sioner, 129 

Wythers,  Edward,  Governor,  23 

“Yellow.”  See  Kersey 
Yeo,  George,  clerk  to  the  Governors, 
3°4 

York,  Duke  of,  foundation  stone  of 
new  Hall  laid  by,  63 
Younge,  Walter,  Governor,  23 


PLYMOUTH 

WILLIAM  BKENDON  AND  SON 
PRINTERS 


A CATALOGUE  OF  BOOKS 
AND  ANNOUNCEMENTS  OF 
METHUEN  AND  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS  : LONDON 
36  ESSEX  STREET 

w.c. 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 


FORTHCOMING  BOOKS, 

2 

POETRY, 

12 

BELLES  LETTRES,  ANTHOLOGIES, 

ETC., 

12 

ILLUSTRATED  AND  GIFT  BOOKS, 

l6 

HISTORY,  ... 

17 

BIOGRAPHY, 

19 

TRAVEL,  ADVENTURE  AND  TOPOGRAPHY, 

21 

NAVAL  AND  MILITARY, 

23 

GENERAL  LITERATURE, 

24 

piiilosophV,  . 

26 

SCIENCE, 

27 

THEOLOGY,  . . , 

27 

FICTION, 

32 

BOOKS  FOR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS,  . 

42 

THE  PEACOCK  LIBRARY, 

42 

UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  SERIES, 

42 

SOCIAL  QUESTIONS  OF  TO-DAY 

43 

CLASSICAL  TRANSLATIONS, 

44 

EDUCATIONAL  BOOKS, 

44 

NOVEMBER  1901 


November  1901 


Messrs.  Methuen’s 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 


Belles  Lettres 

DANTE  STUDIES  AND  RESEARCHES.  By  Paget  Toyn- 
bee, D.  Litt.,  M.A.  Demy  8vo.  10 s.  6 d. 

Among  the  subjects  dealt  with  are  * Dante’s  Latin  Dictionary,'  ‘ Dante  and  the 
Lancelot  Romance,’  Dante’s  references  to  Pythagoras,  Dante’s  obligations  to 
Alfraganus,  to  Orosius,  to  Albertus  Magnus  ; Dante’s  theories  as  to  the  spots  on  the 
moon,  the  seven  examples  of  munificence  in  the  Convivio,  the  Commentary  of 
Benvenutoda  Imola  on  the  Divina  Commedia , etc.,  etc. 


/Iftetbuen’s  Standard  Xibrarg 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  By  Thomas  Carlyle. 
Edited  byC.  R.  L.  Fletcher,  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford. 
Three  Volumes.  Crown  8 vo.  6 s.  each. 

This  edition  is  magnificently  equipped  with  notes  by  a scholar  who  has  given  three 
years  to  its  preparation. 

THE  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 
By  Thomas  Carlyle.  With  an  Introduction  by  C.  H.  Firth, 
M.A. , and  Notes  and  Appendices  by  Mrs.  Lomas.  Three  Volumes. 
6s.  each. 

This  edition  is  brought  up  to  the  standard  of  modern  scholarship  by  the  addition  of 
numerous  new  letters  of  Cromwell,  and  by  the  correction  of  many  errors  which 
recent  research  has  discovered. 

CRITICAL  AND  HISTORICAL  ESSAYS.  By  Lord 
Macaulay.  Edited  by  F.  C.  Montague,  M.A.  Three  Volumes. 
Crown  8 vo.  6s.  each. 

The  only  edition  of  this  book  completely  annotated. 

Xittlc  JSiograpbtes 

leap.  8 vo.  Each  Volume,  cloth,  3 s.  6d.  ; leather,  45.  net. 

Messrs.  Methuen  are  publishing  a new  series  bearing  the  above  title. 
Each  book  contains  the  biography  of  a character  famous  in  war,  art, 
literature  or  science,  and  is  written  by  an  acknowledged  expert.  The 
books  are  charmingly  produced  and  well  illustrated.  They  form  delightful 
gift  books. 

THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  HOWARD.  By  E.  C.  S.  Gibson,  D.D., 
Vicar  of  Leeds.  With  12  Illustrations. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements 


3 


Zbe  Works  of  Shakespeare 

Messrs.  Methuen  are  publishing  an  Edition  of  Shakespeare  in  single 
Plays.  Each  play  is  edited  with  a full  Introduction,  Textual  Notes,  and 
a Commentary  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

KING  LEAR.  Edited  by  W.  J.  Craig.  Demy  8 vo.  3^ 

ffbe  Xfttle  Xibrarg 

‘ The  volumes  are  compact  in  size,  printed  on  thin  but  good  paper  in  clear  type, 
prettily  and  at  the  same  time  strongly  bound,  and  altogether  good  to  look  upon 
and  handle.' — Outlook. 

Pott  8 vo.  Each  Volume,  cloth,  xr.  6d.  net ; leather , 2 s.  6 d.  net. 

Messrs.  Methuen  are  producing  a series  of  small  books  under  the 
above  title,  containing  some  of  the  famous  books  in  English  and  other 
literatures,  in  the  domains  of  fiction,  poetry,  and  belles  lettres.  The 
series  contains  several  volumes  of  selections  in  prose  and  verse. 

The  books  are  edited  with  the  most  sympathetic  and  scholarly  care. 
Each  one  contains  an  Introduction  which  gives  (1)  a short  biography  of 
the  author,  (2)  a critical  estimate  of  the  book.  Where  they  are  necessary, 
short  notes  are  added  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

Each  book  has  a portrait  or  frontispiece  in  photogravure,  and  the 
volumes  are  produced  with  great  care  in  a style  uniform  with  that  of 
‘ The  Library  of  Devotion.’ 

CHRISTMAS  BOOKS.  By  W.  M.  Thackeray.  Edited  by  S. 
Gwynn. 

ESMOND.  By  W.  M.  Thackeray.  Edited  by  S.  Gwynn. 
Two  volumes. 

CHRISTMAS  BOOKS.  By  Charles  Dickens.  Edited  by 
George  Giss-ing.  Two  volumes. 

THE  COMPLEAT  ANGLER.  By  Isaac  Walton.  Edited 
by  J.  Buchan. 

THE  ESSAYS  OF  ELIA ; First  and  Second  Series.  By 
Charles  Lamb.  Edited  by  E.  V.  Lucas. 

THE  ENGLISH  POEMS  OF  RICHARD  CRASHAW. 

Edited  by  Edward  Hutton. 

A SENTIMENTAL  JOURNEY.  By  Laurence  Sterne. 
Edited  by  H.  W.  Paul. 

THE  PARADISO  OF  DANTE.  Translated  by  H.  F.  Cary. 
Edited  by  Paget  Toynbee. 

CALIPH  VATHEK.  By  William  Beckford.  Edited  by  E. 
D.  Ross. 


4 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements 


Illustrated  Books  and  Books  for 
Children 

THE  BROTHERS  DALZIEL:  being  a Record  of  Fifty  Years 
of  their  Work,  1840-1890.  With  150  Illustrations  after  Pictures  by 
Lord  Leighton,  P.R.A.,  Sir  J.  E.  Millais,  Bart.,  P.R.A.,  Sir  E. 
J.  Poynter,  P.  R.A.,  Holman  PIunt,  Dante  G.  Rossetti,  Sir 
John  Tenniel,  John  Ruskin,  and  many  others.  Quarto.  2is.net. 

THE  ESSAYS  OF  ELIA.  By  Charles  Lamb.  With  over 
100  Illustrations  by  A.  Garth  Jones,  and  an  Introduction  by  E. 
V.  Lucas.  Demy  8 vo.  10 s.  6d. 

This  is  probably  the  most  beautiful  edition  of  Lamb's  Essays  that  has  ever  been 
published.  The  illustrations  display  the  most  remarkable  sympathy,  insight,  and 
skill,  and  the  introduction  is  by  a critic  whose  knowledge  of  Lamb  is  unrivalled. 

THE  VISIT  TO  LONDON.  Described  in  verse  by  E.  V. 
Lucas,  and  in  coloured  pictures  by  F.  D.  Bedford.  Small  4 to. 
6s. 

This  charming  book  describes  the  introduction  of  a country  child  to  the  delights  and 
sights  of  London.  It  is  the  result  of  a well-known  partnership  between  author  and 
artist. 


flbc  Xlttlc  iftSlue  iffioofce  for  Cbil&ren 
Edited  by  E.  V.  LUCAS 
Illustrated.  Square  Fcap,  8vo.  2 s.  6 d. 

Messrs.  Methuen  have  in  preparation  a series  of  children’s  books 
under  the  above  general  title.  The  aim  of  the  editor  is  to  get  entertaining 
or  exciting  stories  about  normal  children,  the  moral  of  which  is  implied 
rather  than  expressed.  The  books  will  be  reproduced  in  a somewhat 
unusual  form,  which  will  have  a certain  charm  of  its  own.  The  first  three 
volumes  arranged  are  : 

1.  THE  CASTAWAYS  OF  MEADOW  BANK.  By  T.  Cobb. 

2.  THE  BEECHNUT  BOOK.  By  Jacob  Abbott.  Edited  by 

E.  V.  Lucas. 

3.  THE  AIR  GUN  : or,  How  the  Mastermans  and  Dobson  Major 

nearly  lost  their  Holidays.  By  T.  Hilbert. 

History 

CROMWELL’S  ARMY:  A History  of  the  English  Soldier 
during  the  Civil  Wars,  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  Protectorate. 
By  C.  H.  Firth,  M.A.  Crown  8 vo.  7 s.  6 d. 

All  elaborate  study  and  description  of  Cromwell’s  army  by  which  the  victory  of  the 
Parliament  was  secured.  The  ‘New  Model’ is  described  in  minute  detail,  and 
the  author,  who  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  historians  of  the  day,  has  made 
great  use  of  unpublished  mss. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements  5 

ANNALS  OF  CHRIST’S  HOSPITAL.  By  E.  H.  Pearce,  M.A. 
With  numerous  illustrations.  Demy  8 vo.  7s.  6d. 

A HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA  FROM  PETER  THE  GREAT 
TO  ALEXANDER  II.  By  W.  R.  Morfill,  Jesus  College, 
Oxford.  Crown  8 vo.  7s • ^d. 

This  history,  by  the  most  distinguished  authority  in  England,  is  founded  on  a study 
of  original  documents,  and  though  necessarily  brief,  is  the  most  comprehensive 
narrative  in  existence.  Considerable  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  social  and 
literary  development  of  the  country,  and  the  recent  expansion  of  Russia  in  Asia. 

A HISTORY  OF  THE  POLICE  IN  ENGLAND.  By 
Captain  Melville  Lee.  Crown  8 vo.  7s.  6d. 

This  highly  interesting  book  is  the  first  history  of  the  police  force  from  its  first 
beginning  to  its  present  development.  Written  as  it  is  by  an  author  of  competent 
historical  and  legal  qualifications,  it  will  be  indispensable  to  every  magistrate  and 
to  all  who  are  indirectly  interested  in  the  police  force. 


A HISTORY  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  : From  its 
Beginning  to  Tennyson.  By  L.  Engel.  Demy  8 vo.  7 s.  6 d. 

A HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  IN  INDIA.  By  A.  D. 
Innes,  M.A.  With  Maps  and  Plans.  Crown  8 vo.  7 s.  6 d. 


THE  LIFE  OF  ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON.  By  Graham 
Balfour.  Two  Volumes.  Demy  8 vo.  25 s.  net. 


This  highly  interesting  biography  has  been  entrusted  by  Mr.  Stevenson’s  family  to 
his  cousin,  Mr.  Balfour,  and. all  available  materials  have  been  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal. The  book  is  rich  in  unpublished  Mss.  and  letters,  diaries  of  travel, 
reminiscences  of  friends,  and  a valuable  fragment  of  autobiography.  It  also  con- 
tains a complete  bibliography  of  all  Stevenson's  work.  This  biography  of  one  of 
the  most  attractive  and  sympathetic  personalities  in  English  literature  should 
possess  a most  fascinating  interest.  The  book  will  be  uniform  with  The  Edinburgh 
Edition. 


THE  LIFE  OF  FRANQOIS  DE  FENELON.  By  VISCOUNT 
St.  Cyres.  With  8 Portraits.  Demy  8 vo.  10s.  6 d. 


This  biography  has  engaged  the  author  for  many  years,  and  the  book  is  not  only  the 
study  of  an  interesting  personality,  but  an  important  contribution  to  the  history  of 
the  period. 

THE  CONVERSATIONS  OF  JAMES  NORTHCOTE,  R.A. 
and  JAMES  WARD.  Edited  by  Ernest  Fletcher.  With  many 
Portraits.  Demy  8 vo.  10 s.  6 d. 

This  highly  interesting,  racy,  and  stimulating  book,  contains  hitherto  unpublished 
utterances  of  Northcotc  during  a period  of  twenty-one  years.  There  are  many 
reminiscences  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  much  advice  to  young  painters,  and  many 
references  to  the  great  artists  and  great  figures  of  the  day. 


6 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements 


Travel,  Adventure  and  Topography 

HEAD-HUNTERS,  BLACK,  WHITE,  AND  BROWN.  By 
A.  C.  Haddon,  Sc. D.,  F.R.S.  With  many  Illustrations  and  a 
Map.  Demy  8 vo.  153-. 

A narrative  of  adventure  and  exploration  in  Northern  Borneo.  It  contains  much 
matter  of  the  highest  scientific  interest. 

A BOOK  OF  BRITTANY.  By  S.  Baring  Gould.  With 

numerous  Illustrations.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

Uniform  in  scope  and  sue  with  Mr.  Baring  Gould’s  well-known  books  on  Devon, 
Cornwall,  and  Dartmoor. 


General  Literature 

WOMEN  AND  THEIR  WORK.  By  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Lyttelton. 

Crown  ivo.  2 s.  6d. 

A discussion  of  the  present  position  of  women  in  view  of  the  various  occupations  and 
interests  which  are  or  may  be  open  to  them.  There  will  be  an  introduction  deal- 
ing with  the  general  question,  followed  by  chapters  on  the  family,  the  household, 
philanthropic  work,  professions,  recreation,  and  friendship. 

ENGLISH  VILLAGES.  By  P.  H.  Ditchfield,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

Illustrated.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

A popular  and  interesting  account  of  the  history  of  a typical  village,  and  of  village 
life  in  general  in  England. 

SPORTING  MEMORIES.  By  J.  Otho  Paget.  Demy  8 vo. 
12  s.  6 d. 

This  volume  of  reminiscences  by  a well-known  sportsman  and  Master  of  Hounds 
deals  chiefly  with  fox-hunting  experiences. 


Science 

DRAGONS  OF  THE  AIR.  By  H.  G.  Seeley,  F.R.S., 

With  many  Illustrations.  Crowti  8 vo.  6s. 

A popular  history  of  the  most  remarkable  flying  animals  which  ever  lived.  Their 
relations  to  mammals,  birds,  and  reptiles,  living  and  extinct,  are  shown  by  an 
original  series  of  illustrations.  The  scattered  remains  preserved  in  Europe  and 
the  United  States  have  been  put  together  accurately  to  show  the  varied  forms  of 
the  animals.  The  book  is  a natural  history  of  these  extinct  animals,  which  flew 
by  means  of  a single  finger. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements 


7 


Theology 

REGNUM  DEI.  The  Bampton  Lectures  of  1901.  By  A. 
Robertson,  D.D.,  Principal  of  King’s  College,  London.  Demy 
8 vo.  I2j.  6 d.  net. 

This  book  is  an  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  ‘ Kingdom  of  God  ’ in  its 
original  prominence  in  the  teaching  of  Christ.  It  reviews  historically  the  main 
interpretations  of  this  central  idea  in  the  successive  phases  of  Christian  tradition  and 
life.  Special  attention  is  given  to  the  sense  in  which  St.  Augustine  identified 
the  Church  with  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  later  lectures  follow  out  the  alter- 
native ideas  of  the  Church,  and  of  its  relation  to  civil  society  which  the  Middle 
Ages  and  more  recent  types  of  Christian  thought  have  founded  upon  alternative 
conceptions  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY.  By  G.  W.  Wade,  D.D. 
With  Maps.  Crown  %vo.  6s. 

This  book  presents  a connected  account  of  the  Hebrew  people  during  the  period 
covered  by  the  Old  Testament ; and  has  been  drawn  up  from  the  Scripture  records 
in  accordance  with  the  methods  of  historical  criticism.  The  text  of  the  Bible  has 
been  studied  in  the  light  thrown  upon  it  by  the  best  modern  commentators ; but 
the  reasons  for  the  conclusions  stated  are  not  left  to  be  sought  for  in  the  com- 
mentaries, but  are  discussed  in  the  course  of  the  narrative.  Much  attention  has 
been  devoted  to  tracing  the  progress  of  religion  amongst  the  Hebrews,  and  the 
book,  which  is  furnished  with  maps,  is  further  adapted  to  the  needs  of  theological 
students  by  the  addition  of  geographical  notes,  tables,  and  a full  index. 

THE  AGAPE  AND  THE  EUCHARIST.  By  J.  F.  Keating, 
D.  D.  Crown  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

THE  IMITATION  OF  CHRIST.  A Revised  Translation,  with 
an  Introduction,  by  C.  Bigg,  D.D.,  Canon  of  Christ  Church. 
With  Frontispiece.  Crown  8 vo.  31.  61 i. 

A new  edition,  carefully  revised  and  set  in  large  type,  of  Dr.  Bigg's  well-known 

version. 

©jfor6  Commentaries 

General  Editor,  Walter  Lock,  D.D.,  Warden  of  Keble  College,  Dean 
Ireland’s  Professor  of  Exegesis  in  the  University  of  Oxford. 

THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES  : With  Introduction  and 
Notes  by  R.  B.  Rackham,  M.A.  Demy  8 vo.  12 s.  6 d. 

©be  Cburcbman’a  ULIbrarg 

General  Editor,  J.  H.  BURN,  B.D.,  Examining  Chaplain  to  the 
Bishop  of  Aberdeen. 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  AND  THE  NEW  SCHOLAR- 
SHIP. By  J.  W.  Peters,  D.D.  Crown  8vo.  6s. 

COMPARATIVE  RELIGION.  By  J.  A.  MacCullock. 
Crown  8 vo. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.  By  E.  T.  Green.  Crown  8 vo. 

THE  CHURCHMAN’S  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT.  Edited  by  Angus  M.  Mackay,  B.  A.  Crown  8vo. 

3 a 6 d. 


8 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements 


£be  Gburcbman’s  Bible 

General  Editor,  J.  H.  BURN,  B.D. 

Messrs.  Methuen  are  issuing  a series  of  expositions  upon  most  of  the 
books  of  the  Bible.  The  volumes  wilt  be  practical  and  devotional,  and  the 
text  of  the  authorised  version  is  explained  in  sections,  which  will  correspond 
as  far  as  possible  with  the  Church  Lectionary. 

ISAIAH.  Edited  by  W.  E.  Barnes,  D.D.,  Fellow  of  Peter- 
house,  Cambridge.  Two  Volumes,  is.  net  each. 

THE  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 
EPHESIANS.  Edited  by  G.  H.  Whitaker,  is.  6 d.  net. 

Gibe  Xibravg  of  ©evotion 

Pott  8vo,  cloth,  2s.  ; leather,  is.  6 d.  net. 

‘ This  series  is  excellent.’ — The  Bishop  of  London. 

‘ Very  delightful  ’ — The  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells. 

‘ Well  worth  the  attention  of  the  Clergy.’ — The  Bishop  of  Lichfield. 

‘ The  new  “ Library  of  Devotion"  is  excellent.’ — The  Bishop  of  Peterborough. 
‘ Charming.' — Record.  ‘ Delightful.’ — Church  Bells. 

THE  THOUGHTS  OF  PASCAL.  Edited  with  an  Introduction 
and  Notes  by  C.  S.  Jerram,  M.A. 

ON  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD.  By  St.  Francis  de  Sales.  Edited 
by  W.  J.  Knox-Little,  M.A. 

A MANUAL  OF  CONSOLATION  FROM  THE  SAINTS 
AND  FATHERS.  Edited  by  J.  II.  Burn,  B.D. 

THE  SONG  OF  SONGS.  Being  Selections  from  St.  Bernard. 
Edited  by  B.  Blaxland,  M.A. 

Xeabers  of  IRcligion 

Edited  by  H.  C.  BEECHING,  M.A.  With  Portraits,  Crown  8vo.  3r  6ii. 

A series  of  short  biographies  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  religious 
life  and  thought  of  all  ages  and  countries. 

BISHOP  BUTLER.  By  W.  A.  SPOONER,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  New 
College,  Oxford. 

Educational  Books 

COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION  IN  THEORY  AND  PRAC- 
TICE. By  E.  E.  Whitfield,  M.A.  Crown  8vo.  5 s. 

An  introduction  to  Methuen’s  Commercial  Series  treating  the  question  of  Commercial 
Education  fully  from  both  the  point  of  view  of  the  teacher  and  of  the  parent 

EASY  GREEK  EXERCISES.  By  C.  G.  Botting,  M.A.  Crown 
8 vo.  is. 

GERMAN  VOCABULARIES  FOR  REPETITION.  By 

Sophie  Wright.  Fcap.  8 vo.  is.  6d. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Announcements  9 

A COMMERCIAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  FOREIGN  NATIONS. 
By  F.  C.  Boon,  B.A.  Crown  8 vo.  2 s. 

JUNIOR  EXAMINATION  SERIES.  Edited  by 
A.  M.  M.  Stedman,  M.A.  Fcap.  8 vo.  ij. 

French  Examination  Papers.  By  F.  Jacob,  B.A. 

Latin  Examination  Papers.  By  C.  G.  Botting,  M.A. 

Algebra  Examination  Papers.  By  Austen  S.  Lester,  M.A. 

English  Grammar  Examination  Papers.  By  W.  William- 
son, B.A. 

Fiction 

THE  HISTORY  OF  SIR  RICHARD  CALMADY:  A Romance. 
By  Lucas  Malet,  Author  of  ‘ The  Wages  of  Sin.’  Croimi  8vo . 6.r. 

This  is  the  first  long  and  elaborate  book  by  Lucas  Malet  since  ‘ The  Wages  of  Sin.’ 
It  is  a romance  on  realistic  lines,  and  will  certainly  be  one  of  the  most  important 
novels  of  the  last  ten  years. 

This  novel,  the  scene  of  which  is  laid  in  the  moorland  country  of  the  northern 
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XXIII.  THE  HUMAN  BOY.  Eden  Philltotts 

XXIV.  THE  CHRONICLES  OF  COUNT 

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NICHOLAS  NICKLEBY.  With 
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THE  EARLY  POEMS  OF  ALFRED, 
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MAUD.  By  Alfred,  Lord  Tenny- 
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EOTHEN.  By  A.  W.  Kinglake. 
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CAMBRIDGE  AND  ITS  COL- 
LEGES. By  A.  Hamilton  Thomp- 
son. Illustrated  by  E.  H.  New. 

1 It  is  brightly  written  and  learned,  and  is 
just  such  a book  as  a cultured  visitor 
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THE  MALVERN  COUNTRY.  By 
B.  C.  A.  Windle,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S. 
Illustrated  by  E.  H.  New. 

SHAKESPEARE’S  COUNTRY.  By 
B.C.A.  Windle, F.R.S..M.A.  Illus- 
trated by  E.  H.  New.  Second  Edition. 


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Tennyson.  THE  EARLY  POEMS 
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Collins,  M.A.  With  10  Illustra- 
tions in  Photogravure  by  W.  E.  F. 
Britten.  Demy  8 vo.  10 s.  6 d. 

Gelett  Burgess.  GOOPS  AND  HOW 
TO  BE  THEM.  By  Gelett 
Burgess.  With  numerous  Illustra- 
tions. Small  o,to,  6s. 

Gelett  Burgess.  THE  LIVELY 
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Phil  May.  THE  PHIL  MAY 
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ANIMALS.  By  Edmund  Selous. 
Illustrated  by  G.  W.  Ord.  Fcap.  8 vo. 
as.  6 d. 

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S.  Baring  Gould.  THE  CROCK  OF 
GOLD.  Fairy  Stories  told  by  S. 
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‘ Twelve  delightful  fairy  tales.' — Punch. 

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This  is  a birthday-book  of  exceptional 
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John  Bunyan.  THE  PILGRIM’S 
PROGRESS.  By  John  Bunyan. 
Edited,  with  an  Introduction,  by  C.  H. 
Firth,  M.A.  With  39  Illustrations 
by  R.  Anning  Bell.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

1 The  best  “Pilgrim’s  Progress.’"— 

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Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


F.  D.  Bedford.  NURSERY  RHYMES. 
With  many  Coloured  Pictures  by  F. 
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S.  Baring  Gould.  A BOOK  OF 
FAIRY  TALES  retold  by  S.  Baring 
Gould.  With  numerous  Illustra- 
tions and  Initial  Letters  by  Arthur 
J.  Gaskin.  Second  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo. 
Buckram.  6s. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  OLD  ENGLISH 
FAIRY  TALES.  Collected  and 
edited  by  S.  Baring  Gould.  With 
Numerous  Illustrations  by  F.  D. 


i7 

Bedford.  Second  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo. 
Buckram.  6s. 

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S Baring  Gould.  A BOOK  OF 
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mingham Art  School.  Buckram,  gilt 
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H.  C.  Beeching.  A BOOK  OF 
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History 


Flinders  Petrie.  A HISTORY  OF 
EGYPT, from  the  Earliest  Times 
to  the  Present  Day.  Edited  by 
W.  M.  Flinders  Petrie,  D.C.L., 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  Egyptology  at 
U niversity  College.  Fully  Illustrated. 

In  Six  Volumes.  Cr.  8 vo.  6s.  each. 
Vol.  I.  Prehistoric  Times  to 
XVIth  Dynasty.  W.  M.  F. 
Petrie.  Fourth  Edition. 

Vol.  II.  The  XVIIth  and 
XVIIIth  Dynasties.  W.  M. 

F.  Petrie.  Third  Edition. 

Vol.  IV.  The  Egypt  of  the 
PtolemieS.  J.  P.  Mahaffy. 

Vol.  V.  Roman  Egypt.  J.  G. 
Milne. 

Vol.  VI.  EGYPT  IN  THE 
MIDDLE  AGES.  Stanley 
Lane-Poole. 

‘A  history  written  in  the  spirit  of  scientific 
precision  so  worthily  represented  by  Dr. 
Petrie  and  his  school  cannot  but  pro- 
mote sound  and  accurate  study,  and 
supply  a vacant  place  in  the  English 
literature  of  Egyptology.’ — Times. 

Flinders  Petrie.  RELIGION  AND 
CONSCIENCE  IN  ANCIENT 
EGYPT.  By  W.  M.  Flinders 
Petrie,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.  Fully  Illus- 
trated. Crown  8m  as.  6 d. 

‘ The  lectures  will  afford  a fund  of  valuable 
information  for  students  of  ancient 
ethics  .'—Manchester  Guardian. 

A3 


Flinders  Petrie.  SYRIA  AND 
EGYPT,  FROM  THE  TELL  EL 
AMARNA  TABLETS.  By  W.  M. 
Flinders  Petrie,  D.C.L.,  LL.D. 
Crown  8vo.  2S.  6 d. 

‘ A marvellous  record.  The  addition  made 
to  our  knowledge  is  nothing  short  of 
amazing.' — Times. 

Flinders  Petrie.  EGYPTIAN  TALES. 
Edited  by  W.  M.  Flinders  Petrie. 
Illustrated  by  Tristram  Ellis.  In 
Two  Volumes.  Cr.  8 vo.  y.  6 d.  each. 

‘ Invaluable  as  a picture  of  life  in  Palestine 
and  Egypt.’ — Daily  News. 

Flinders  Petrie.  EGYPTIAN  DECO- 
RATIVE ART.  By  W.  M.  Flin- 
ders Petrie.  With  120  Illustrations. 
Cr.  8 vo.  y.  6 d. 

1 In  these  lectures  he  displays  rare  skill  in 
elucidating  the  development  of  decora- 
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C.  W.  Oman.  A HISTORY  OF  THE 
ART  OF  WAR.  Vol.  11.  : The 
Middle  Ages,  from  the  Fourth  to  the 
Fourteenth  Century.  By  C.  W. 
Oman,  M.A. , Fellow  of  All  Souls’, 
Oxford.  Illustrated.  Demy  8 vo.  21  s. 

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tion has  never  been  treated  on  such  an 
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the  exact  history  of  the  world  has  pos- 
sessed more  enduring  value.' — Daily 
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Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


18 


S.  Baring  Gould.  THE  TRAGEDY 
OF  THE  CAESARS.  With  nume- 
rous Illustrations  from  Busts,  Gems, 
Cameos,  etc.  By  S.  Baring  Gould. 
Fifth  Edition.  Royal  8 vo.  15*. 

‘A  most  splendid  and  fascinating  book  on  a 
subject  of  undying  interest.  The  great 
feature  of  the  book  is  the  use  the  author 
has  made  of  the  existing  portraits  of 
the  Caesars  and  the  admirable  critical 
subtlety  he  has  exhibited  in  dealing  with 
this  line  of  research.  It  is  brilliantly 
written,  and  the  illustrations  are  sup- 
plied on  a scale  of  profuse  magnificence.’ 
— Daily  Chronicle. 

F.  W.  Maitland.  CANON  LAW  IN 
ENGLAND.  By  F.  W.  Maitland, 
LL.D. , Downing  Professor  of  the 
Laws  of  England  in  the  University 
of  Cambridge.  Royal  8 vo.  7s.  6c l. 

‘ Professor  Maitland  has  put  students  of 
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essays  are  landmarks  in  the  study  of  the 
history  of  Canon  Law.’ — Times. 

John  Hackett.  A HISTORY  OF 
THE  CHURCH  OF  CYPRUS. 
By  John  Hackett,  M.A.  With 
Maps  and  Illustrations.  Demy  8m 
15 s.  net. 

A work  which  brings  together  all  that  is 
known  on  the  subject  from  the  intro- 
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separate  division  deals  with  the  local 
Latin  Church  during  the  period  of  the 
Western  Supremacy. 

E.  L.  Taunton.  A HISTORY  OF 
THE  JESUITS  IN  ENGLAND. 
By  E.  L.  Taunton.  With  Illustra- 
tions. Demy  8m  21  s.  net. 

' A history  of  permanent  value,  which  covers 
ground  never  properly  investigated 
before,  and  is  replete  with  the  results  of 
original  research.  A most  interesting 
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‘ A volume  which  will  attract  considerable 
attention.’ — A thaueum. 

H.  de  B.  Gibbins.  INDUSTRY  IN 
ENGLAND  : HISTORICAL  OUT- 
LINES. By  H.  de  B.  Gibbins, 
Litt.D.,  M.A.  With  5 Maps.  Se- 
cond Edition.  Demy  8m  ior.  6 d. 

H.  E.  Egerton.  A HISTORY  OF 
BRITISH  COLONIAL  POLICY. 
By  H.  E.  Egerton,  M.A.  Demy 
8 vo.  12s.  6 d. 

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racy in  detail,  clear  arrangement  of  facts, 
and  a broad  grxsp  of  principles.’ — 
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Albert  Sorel.  THE  EASTERN 
QUESTION  IN  THE  EIGH- 
TEENTH CENTURY.  By  Albert 
Sorel.  Translated  by  F.  C.  Bram- 
well,  M.A.  Cr.  8m  3s.  6 d. 

C.  H.  Grinling.  A HISTORY  OF 
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ling. With  Illustrations.  Demy  8m 
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' Mr.  Grinling  has  done  for  a Railway  what 
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Clement  Stretton.  A HISTORY  OF 
THE  MIDLAND  RAILWAY.  By 
Clement  Stretton.  With  numer- 
ous Illustrations.  Demy  8 vo.  12 s.  6 d. 

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Outlook. 

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W.  Sterry.  ANNALS  OF  ETON 
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1 A treasury  of  quaint  and  interesting  read- 
ing. Mr.  Sterry  has  by  his  skill  and 
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Academy. 

G.W. Fisher.  ANNALS  OF  SHREWS- 
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geaunt, M.A.  With  numerous 
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A.  Clark.  THE  COLLEGES  OF 
OXFORD : Their  History  and  their 
Traditions.  Edited  by  A.  Clark, 
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8m  I2r.  6d. 

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Athenaeum. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue  19 


T.M.  Taylor.  A CONSTITUTIONAL 
AND  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF 
ROME.  By  T.  M.  Taylor,  M. A., 
Fellow  of  Gonville  and  Caius  College, 
Cambridge.  Crown  8 vo.  ys.  6 d. 

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has  inspired  a subject  which  in  some 
hands  becomes  a mere  series  of  cold 
abstractions.  It  is  a work  that  will  be 
stimulating  to  the  student  of  Roman 
history.’ — A thencrum. 

J.  WeUs.  A SHORT  HISTORY  OF 
ROME.  By  J.  Wells,  M.A., 
Fellow  and  Tutor  of  Wadham  Coll., 
Oxford.  Third  Edition.  With  3 
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This  book  is  intended  for  the  Middle  and 
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Pass  Students  at  the  Universities.  It 
contains  copious  Tables,  etc. 

‘An  original  work  written  on  an  original 
plan,  and  with  uncommon  freshness  and 
vigour.  ’ — Speaker. 

0.  Browning.  A SHORT  HISTORY 
OF  MEDIAEVAL  ITALY,  a.d. 
1250-1530.  By  Oscar  Browning, 
Fellow  and  Tutor  of  King's  College, 
Cambridge.  In  Two  Volumes.  Cr. 
8 vo.  5L  each. 

Vol.  I.  1250-1409. — Guelphs  and 
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Vol.  11.  1409-1530. — The  Age  of 
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O’Grady.  THE  STORY  OF  IRE- 
LAND. By  Standish  O'Grady, 
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Crown  8 vo.  2 s.  6 d. 


3BB3antftte  ZTejte 

Edited  by  J.  B.  Bury,  M.A.,  Litt.D. 


ZACHARIAH  OF  MITYLENE. 
Translated  into  English  by  F.  J. 
Hamilton,  D.D.,  and  E.  W. 
Brooks.  Demy  8 vo.  12 s.  6 d.  net. 

EVAGRIUS.  Edited  by  Professor 


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THE  HISTORY  OF  PSELLUS 
By  C.  Sathas.  Demy  8 vo.  151. 
net. 


Biography 


R.  L.  Stevenson.  THE  LETTERS 
OF  ROBERT  EOUIS  STEVEN- 
SON TO  HIS  FAMILY  AND 
FRIENDS.  Selected  and  Edited, 
with  Notes  and  Introductions,  by 
Sidney Colvin.  Fourth  and  Cheaper 
Edition.  Crown  8m  121. 

Library  Edition.  Demy  8m  2 
vols.  25 s.  net. 

‘ Irresistible  in  their  raciness,  their  variety, 
their  animation  . . . of  extraordinary 
fascination.  A delightful  inheritance, 
the  truest  record  of  a “richly  com- 
pounded spirit”  that  the  literature  of 
our  time  has  preserved.’ — Times. 

J.  G.  Millais.  THE  LIFE  AND 
LETTERS  OF  SIR  JOHN 

EVERETT  MILLAIS,  President  of 
the  Royal  Academy.  By  his  Son, 
J.  G.  Millais.  With  319  Illus- 
trations, of  which  9 arc  in  Photo- 


gravure. Second  Edition.  2 zols. 
Royal  8 vo.  32 s.  net. 

‘ This  splendid  work.’ — World . 

‘ Of  such  absorbing  interest  is  it,  of  such 
completeness  in  scope  and  beauty. 
Special  tribute  must  be  paid  to  the 
extraordinary  completeness  of  the  illus- 
trations.’— Graphic. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  THE  LIFE  OF 
NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE,  By 
S.  Baring  Gould.  With  over  450 
Illustrations  in  the  Text  and  12 
Photogravure  Plates.  Large  quarto. 
Gilt  top.  361. 

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gravures and  finely  - executed  wood 
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pictorial  chronicle  of  Napoleon  I.’s 
personal  history  from  thedays  of  his  early 
childhood  at  Ajaccio  to  the  date  of  his 
second  interment.' — Daily  Telegraph. 


20 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


w.  A.  Bettes  worth.  THE  WALKERS 
OF  SOUTHGATE  : Being  the  Chro- 
nicles of  a Cricketing  Family.  By 
W.  A.  Bettesworth.  Illustrated. 
Demy  8 vo.  7s.  6i i. 

‘A  most  engaging  contribution  to  cricket 
literature  ...  a lasting  joy.’ — Vanity 
Fair. 

G.  S.  Bayard.  THE  LIFE  OF  MRS. 
LYNN  LINTON.  By  G.  S.  Lay- 
ard.  With  Portraits.  Demy  8 vo. 

I2J.  6d. 

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having  produced  an  honest  and  interest- 
ing record  of  a notable  woman.' — 
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Stanley  Lane-Poole.  THE  LIFE  OF 
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ley Lane-Poole.  A New  and 
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Helen  C.  Wetmore.  THE  LAST  OF 
THE  GREAT  SCOUTS  ('Buffalo 
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Wetmore.  With  Illustrations. 
Demy  8 vo.  6s. 

‘The  stirring  adventures  of  Buffalo  Bill’s 
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gow Herald. 

Constance Bache.  BROTHER  MUSI- 
CIANS. Reminiscences  of  Edward 
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Crown  Svo.  6s.  net. 

P.  H.  Colomb.  MEMOIRS  OF  AD- 
MIRAL SIR  A.  COOPER  KEY. 
By  Admiral  P.  H.  Colomb.  With 
a Portrait.  Demy  Svo.  16 s. 

C.  Cooper  King.  THE  STORY  OF 
THE  BRITISH  ARMY.  By  Colonel 
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‘An  authoritative  and  accurate  story  of 
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Mail. 

R.  Southey.  ENGLISH  SEAMEN 
(Howard,  Clifford,  Hawkins,  Drake, 


Cavendish).  By  Robert  Southey. 
Edited,  with  an  Introduction,  by 
David  Hannay.  Second  Edition. 
Crown  Svo.  6s. 

‘A  brave,  inspiriting  book.' — Black  and 
White. 

W.  Clark  Russell.  THE  LIFE  OF 
ADMIRAL  LORD  COLLING- 
WOOD. By  W.  Clark  Russell. 
With  Illustrations  by  F.  Brangwyn. 
Fourth  Edition.  Crown  Svo.  6s. 

' A book  which  we  should  like  to  see  in  the 
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Morris  Fuller.  THE  LIFE  AND 
WRITINGS  OF  JOHN  DAVEN- 
ANT,  D.D.  (1571-1641),  Bishop  of 
Salisbury.  By  Morris  Fuller, 
B.  D.  Demy  Svo.  10 s.  6 d. 

J.  M.  Rigg.  ST.  ANSELM  OF 
CANTERBURY : A Chapter  in 
the  History  of  Religion.  By 
J.  M.  Rigg.  Demy  Svo.  7s.  6 d. 

F.  W.  Joyce.  THE  LIFE  OF 
SIR  FREDERICK  GORE  OUSE- 
LEY.  By  F.  W.  Joyce,  M.A.  7s.  6d. 
W.  G.  Collingwood.  THE  LIFE  OF 
JOHN  RUSK1N.  By  W.  G. 
Collingwood,  M.A.  With  Por- 
traits, and  13  Drawings  by  Mr. 
Ruskin.  Second  Edition.  2 vols. 
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C.  Waldstein.  JOHN  RUSKIN.  By 
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A.  M.  F.  Darmesteter,  THE  LIFE 
OF  ERNEST  RENAN.  By 
Madame  Darmesteter.  With 
Portrait.  Second  Edition.  Cr.  Svo.  6s. 
W.  H.  Hutton.  THE  LIFE  OF  SIR 
THOMAS  MORE.  By  W.  H. 
Hutton,  M.A.  With  Portraits. 
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‘ The  book  lays  good  claim  to  high  rank 
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S.  Baring  Gould.  THE  VICAR  OF 
MORWENSTOW : A Biography. 
By  S.  Baring  Gould,  M.A.  A 
new  and  Revised  Edition.  With 
Portrait.  Crown  Svo.  $s.  6d. 

A completely  new  edition  of  the  well  known 
biography  of  R.  S.  Hawker. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


21 


Travel,  Adventure  and  Topography 


SvenHedin.  THROUGH  ASIA.  By 
Sven  Hedin,  Gold  Medallist  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society.  With 
300  Illustrations  from  Sketches 
and  Photographs  by  the  Author, 
and  Maps.  2 vols.  Royal  8 vo.  20 s.  net. 
‘One  of  the  greatest  books  of  the  kind 
issued  during  the  century.  It  is  im- 
possible to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
richness  of  the  contents  of  this  book, 
nor  of  its  abounding  attractions  as  a story 
of  travel  unsurpassed  in  geographical 
and  human  interest.  Much  of  it  is  a 
revelation.  Altogether  the  work  is  one 
which  in  solidity,  novelty,  and  interest 
must  take  a first  rank  among  publica- 
tions of  its  class.  ’ — Time s. 

F.  H.  Skrine  and  E.  D.  Ross.  THE 
HEART  OF  ASIA.  By  F.  H. 
Skrine  and  E.  D.  Ross.  With 
Maps  and  many  Illustrations  by 
Verestchagin.  Large  Crown  8 vo. 
10s.  6 d.  net. 

' This  volume  will  form  a landmark  in  our 
knowledge  of  Central  Asia.  . . . Illumin- 
ating and  convincing.' — Times. 

R.  E.  Peary.  NORTHWARD  OVER 
THE  GREAT  ICE.  ByR.E.  Peary, 
Gold  Medallist  of  the  Royal  Geogra- 
phical Society.  With  over  800  Illus- 
trations. 2 vols.  Royal  Svo.  32 s.  net. 

‘ His  book  will  take  its  place  among  the  per- 
manent literature  ofArctic  exploration.’ 
—Times. 

T.  H.  Holdich.  THE  INDIAN  BOR- 
DERLAND : being  a Personal  Re- 
cord of  Twenty  Years.  By  Sir  T.  H. 
Holdich,  K.C.I.E.  Illustrated.  Demy 
8 vo.  131.  net. 

'Probably  the- most  important  work  on 
frontier  topography  that  has  lately  been 
presented  to  the  general  public.  ’ — L i t era- 
sure. 

'Interesting  and  inspiriting  from  cover  to 
cover,  it  will  assuredly  take  its  place  as 
the  classical  on  the  history  of  the  Indian 
frontier.  '—Pilot. 

'A  work  that  should  long  remain  the 
standard  authority.' — Daily  Chronicle. 

A.  B.  Wyldo.  MODERN  ABYSSINIA. 
By  A.  B.  Wylde.  With  a Map  and 
a Portrait.  Demy  Svo.  15 s.  net. 
‘The  most  valuable  contribution  that  has 


yet  been  made  to  our  knowledge  of 
Abyssinia. ' — Manchester  G uardian. 

‘A  hook  which  will  rank  among  the  very 
best  of  African  works.  '—DailyChronicle. 

‘ A repertory  of  information  on  every  branch 
of  the  subject.' — Literature. 

Alex.  Hosie.  MANCHURIA.  By 
Alexander  Hosie.  With  Illustra- 
tions and  a Map.  Demy  Svo.  ior. 
6 d.  net. 

A complete  account  of  this  important  pro- 
vince by  the  highest  living  authority  on 
the  subject. 

‘ This  book  is  especially  useful  at  the  pre- 
sent moment  when  the  future  of  the 
country  appears  uncertain.’ — Times. 

E.  A.  FitzGerald.  THE  HIGHEST 
ANDES.  By  E.  A.  FitzGerald. 
With  2 Maps,  51  Illustrations,  13  of 
which  are  in  Photogravure,  and  a 
Panorama.  Royal  Svo,  30L  net. 
Also  a Small  Edition  on  Hand-made 
Paper,  limited  to  50  Copies,  4 to, 

£s.  &• 

‘ The  record  of  the  first  ascent  of  the  highest 
mountain  yet  conquered  by  mortal  man. 
A volume  which  will  continue  to  be  the 
classic  book  of  travel  on  this  region  of 
the  Andes.' — Daily  Chronicle. 

F.  W.  Christian.  THE  CAROLINE 
ISLANDS.  By  F.  W.  Christian. 
With  many  Illustrations  and  Maps. 
Demy  8 vo.  12 s.  6 d.  net. 

‘A  real  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  peoples  and  islands  of  Micronesia, 
as  well  as  fascinating  as  a narrative  of 
travels  and  adventure.’ — Scotsman. 

H.  H.  Johnston.  BRITISH  CEN- 
TRAL AFRICA.  By  Sir  H.  H. 
Johnston,  K.C.B.  With  nearly 
Two  Hundred  Illustrations,  and  Six 
Maps.  Second  Edition.  Crown  e,io. 
i8r.  net. 

‘ A fascinating  book,  written  with  equal 
skill  and  charm — the  work  at  once  of  a 
literary  artist  and  of  a man  of  action 
who  is  singularly  wise,  brave,  and  ex- 
perienced. It  abounds  in  admirable 
sketches.  ’ — Westminster  Gazette. 

L.  Decle.  THREE  YEARS  IN 
SAVAGE  AFRICA.  By  Lionel 
Decle.  With  100  Illustrations  and 
5 Maps.  Second  Edition.  Demy  Svo. 
10 s.  6d.  net. 


22 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


A.  Hulme  Beaman.  TWENTY 
YEARS  IN  THE  NEAR  EAST. 
By  A.  Hulme  Beaman.  Demy 
8 vo.  With  Portrait,  ior.  6 d. 

Henri  of  Orleans.  FROM  TONKIN 
TO  INDIA.  By  Prince  Henri  of 
Orleans.  Translated  by  Hamley 
Bent,  M.A.  With  ioo  Illustrations 
and  a Map.  Cr.  4, to , gilt  top.  25s. 

Chester  Holcombe.  THE  REAL 
CHINESE  QUESTION.  By  Ches- 
ter Holcombe.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

‘ It  is  an  important  addition  to  the  materials 
before  the  public  for  forming  an  opinion 
on  a most  difficult  and  pressing  pro- 
blem.'— Times. 

‘It  is  this  practical  “note"  in  the  book, 
coupled  with  the  fairness,  moderation, 
and  sincerity  of  the  author,  that  gives 
it,  in  our  opinion,  the  highest  place 
among  books  published  in  recent  years 
on  the  Chinese  question.’ — Manchester 
Guardian. 

J.W. Robertson-Scott.  THEPEOPLE 
OF  CHINA.  By  J.  W.  Robertson- 
Scott.  With  a Map.  Crown  8 vo. 
3-r.  6 d. 

‘A  vivid  impression  . . . This  excellent, 
brightly  written  epitome.' — Daily  News. 
‘Excellently  well  done.  . . . Enthralling.' 
— Weekly  Dispatch. 

S.  L.  Hinde.  THE  FALL  OF  THE 
CONGO  ARABS.  By  S.  L.  Hinde. 
With  Plans,  etc.  Demy  8 vo.  12 s.  6 d. 

A.  St.  H.  Gibbons.  EXPLORATION 
AND  HUNTING  IN  CENTRAL 
AFRICA.  By  Major  A.  ST.  H. 
Gibbons.  With  full-page  Illustra- 
tions by  C.  Whymper,  and  Maps. 
Demy  8 vo.  151. 

A.  H.  Norway.  NAPLES:  PAST 
AND  PRESENT.  By  A.  IT.  Nor- 
way, Author  of  ‘ Highways  and 
Byways  in  Devon  and  Cornwall. 
With  40  Illustrations  by  A.  G. 
Ferard.  Crown  8vo.  6s. 

In  this  book  Mr.  Norway  gives  not  only  a 
highly  interesting  description  of  modern 
Naples,  but  a historical  account  of  its 
antiquities  and  traditions. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  DARTMOOR : A 
Descriptive  and  Historical  Sketch. 
By  S.  Baring  Gould.  With  Plans 
and  Numerous  Illustrations.  Crown 
8vo.  6s. 


‘ A most  delightful  guide,  companion,  and 
instructor. —Scotsman. 

‘ Informed  with  close  personal  knowledge.’ 
— Saturday  Review. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  THE  BOOK  OF 
THE  WEST.  By  S.  Baring 
Gould.  With  numerous  Illustra- 
tions. Two  volumes.  Vol.  1.  Devon. 
Second  Edition.  Vol.  11.  Cornwall. 
Crown  &vo.  6s.  each. 

‘ Bracing  as  the  air  of  Dartmoor,  the  legend 
weird  as  twilight  over  Dozmare  Pool, 
they  give  us  a very  good  idea  of  this 
enchanting  and  beautiful  district.' — 
Guardian. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  A BOOK  OF 
BRITTANY.  By  S.  Baring  Gould. 
With  numerous  Illustrations.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 

Uniform  in  scope  and  size  with  Mr.  Baring 
Gould's  well-known  books  on  Devon, 
Cornwall,  and  Dartmoor. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  THE  DESERTS 
OF  SOUTHERN  FRANCE.  By 
S.  Baring  Gould.  2 vols.  Demy 
8vo.  321. 

J.  F.  Fraser.  ROUND  THE  WORLD 
ON  AWHEEL.  By  John  Foster 
Fraser.  With  100  Illustrations. 
Crown  8 vo.  6r. 

‘ A classic  of  cycling,  graphic  and  witty.  ’ — 
Yorkshire  Post. 

R.  L.  Jefferson.  A NEW  RIDE  TO 
KHIVA.  By  R.  L.  Jefferson. 
Illustrated.  Crown  8z >0.  6s. 

J.  K.  Trotter.  THE  NIGER 
SOURCES.  By  Colonel  J.  K. 
Trotter,  R.A.  With  a Map  and 
Illustrations.  Crown  8vo.  5 s. 

W.  Crooke.  THE  NORTH- 
WESTERN PROVINCES  OF 
INDIA:  Their  Ethnology  and 
Administration.  By  W.  Crooke. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  Demy 
8vo.  10 s.  6 d. 

A.  Boisragon.  THE  BENIN  MAS- 
SACRE. By  Captain  Boisragon. 
Second  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo.  3 s.  6 d. 

H.  S.  Cowper.  THE  HILL  OF  THE 
GRACES:  or,  the  Great  Stone 
Temples  of  Tripoli.  By  H.  S. 
Cowper,  F.S.  A.  With  Maps,  Plans, 
and  75  Illustrations.  Demy  8 vo. 

1 or.  6 d. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue  23 


W.  B.  Worsfold.  SOUTH  AFRICA. 
By  W.  B.  Worsfold.  M.A.  With 
a Map.  Second  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo.  6s. 

‘ A monumental  work  compressed  into  a 
very  moderate  compass.' — World. 

Katherine  and  Gilbert  Macquoid.  I N 

PARIS.  By  Katherine  and  Gil- 
bert Macquoid.  Illustrated  by 


Thomas  R.  Macquoid,  R.I.  With 
2 maps.  Crown  8 vo.  is. 

‘ A useful  little  guide,  judiciously  supplied 
with  information.’ — Athenecum. 

A.  H.  Keane.  THE  BOER  STATES  : 
A History  and  Description  of  the 
Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State. 
By  A.  H.  Keane,  M.A.  With 
Map.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 


Naval  and  Military 


F.  H.  E.  Cunliffe.  THE  HISTORY 
OF  THE  BOER  WAR.  By  F.  H. 
E,  Cunliffe,  Fellow  of  All  Souls' 
College,  Oxford.  With  many  Illus- 
trations, Plans,  and  Portraits,  hi  2 
vo  Is.  Vol.  I.,  15L 

* The  excellence  of  the  work  is  double  ; for 
the  narrative  is  vivid  and  temperate,  and 
the  illustrations  form  a picture  gallery 
of  the  war  which  is  not  likely  to  be 
rivalled.  . . . An  ideal  gift  book.’ — 
Academy. 

G.  S.  Robertson.  CHITRAL:  The 
Story  of  a Minor  Siege.  By  Sir 
G.  S.  Robertson,  K.C.S.I.  With 
numerouslllustrations,  Mapand  Plans. 
Second  Edition.  Demy  8 vo.  10 s.  6 d. 

‘ A book  which  the  Elizabethanswould  have 
thought  wonderful.  More  thrilling,  more 
piquant,  and  more  human  than  any 
novel.' — Newcastle  Chronicle . 

‘ As  fascinating  as  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  best 
fiction.’ — Daily  Telegraph. 

R.  S.  S.  Baden-Fowell.  THE  DOWN- 
FALL OF  PREMPEH.  A Diary  of 
Life  in  Ashanti,  1895.  By  Maj.-Gen. 
Baden-Powell.  With  21  Illustra- 
tions and  a Map.  Third  Edition. 
Large  Crown  8vo.  6s. 

R.  S.  S.  Baden-Powell.  THE  MATA- 
BELE CAMPAIGN,  1896.  By  Maj.- 
Gen.  Baden-Powell.  With  nearly 
100  Illustrations.  Fourth  and  Cheaper 
Edition.  Large  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

J.  B.  Atkins.  THE  RELIEF  OF 
LADYSMITH.  By  John  Black 
Atkins.  With  16  Plans  and  Illus- 
trations. Third  Edition.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 

H.  W.  Nevinson.  LADYSMITH  : The 
Diary  of  a Siege.  By  H.  W.  Nevin- 


son. With  16  Illustrations  and  a 
Plan.  Second  Edition.  Crown  8vo.  6s. 
Barclay  Lloyd.  A THOUSAND 
MILES  WITH  THE  C.I.V.  By 
Captain  Barclay  Lloyd.  With 
an  Introduction  by  Colonel  Mac- 
Kinnon, and  a Portrait  and  Map. 
Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

Filson  Young.  THE  RELIEF  OF 
MAFEKING.  By  Filson  Young. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 

J.  Angus  Hamilton.  THE  SIEGE 
OF  MAFEKING.  By  J.  Angus 
Hamilton.  With  many  Illustra- 
tions. Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

1 A thrilling  story.’ — Observer. 

H.  F.  Frevost  Battersby.  IN  THE 
WEB  OF  A WAR.  By  H.  F. 
Prevost  Battersby.  With  Plans, 
and  Portrait  of  the  Author.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 

‘The  pathos,  the  comedy,  the  majesty  of 
war  are  all  in  these  pages.’ — Daily 
Mail. 

Howard  C.  Hillegas.  WITH  THE 
BOER  FORCES.  By  Howard  C. 
Hillegas.  With  24  Illustrations. 
Second  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  6r. 

‘A  most  interesting  book.  It  has  many 
and  great  merits.’ — Athenerum. 

‘ Has  extreme  interest  and  scarcely  less 
value.’ — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

H.  C.  J.  Biss.  THE  RELIEF  OF 
KUMASI.  By  Captain  H.  C.  J. 
Biss.  With  Maps  and  Illustrations. 
Second  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 
‘Pleasantly  written  and  highly  interesting. 

The  illustrations  are  admirable.’ — Queen. 

‘ We  should  say  it  will  remain  the  standard 
work  on  its  very  interesting  subject.' — 
Globe. 


24 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


E.  H.  Alderson.  WITH  THE 
MOUNTED  INFANTRY  AND 
THE  MASHONALAND  FIELD 
FORCE,  1896.  By  Lieut. -Colonel 
Alderson.  With  numerous  Illus- 
trations and  Plans.  Demy  8 vo. 
1 or.  6 d. 

Seymour  Vandeleur.  CAMPAIGN- 
ING ON  THE  UPPER  NILE 
AND  NIGER.  By  Lieut.  Seymour 
Vandeleur.  With  an  Introduction 
by  Sir  G.  Goldie,  K.C.M.G.  With 
4 Maps,  Illustrations,  and  Plans. 
Large  Crown  8 vo.  ior.  6 d. 

Lord  Fincastle.  A FRONTIER 
CAMPAIGN.  By  Viscount  Fin- 
castle, V.C.,  and  Lieut.  P.  C. 
Elliott-Lockhart.  With  a Map 
and  16  Illustrations.  Second  Edition. 
Second  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

E.  N.  Bennett.  THE  DOWNFALL 
OF  THE  DERVISHES  : A Sketch 
of  the  Sudan  Campaign  of  1898.  By 
E.  N.  Bennett,  Fellow  of  Hertford 
College.  With  a Photogravure  Por- 
trait of  Lord  Kitchener.  Third 
Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  3 r.  6 d. 

W.  Kinnaird  Rose.  WITH  THE 
GREEKS  IN  THESSALY.  By 


W.  Kinnaird  Rose.  With  Illus- 
trations. Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

G.  W.  Steevens.  NAVAL  POLICY 
By  G.  W.  Steevens.  Demy  8 vo.  6r. 

D.  Hannay.  A SHORT  HISTORY 
OF  THE  ROYAL  NAVY,  From 
Early  Times  to  the  Present  Day. 
By  David  Hannay.  Illustrated. 
2 Vols.  Demy  8 vo.  7 s.  6 d.  each. 
Vol.  I.,  1200-1688. 

1 We  read  it  from  cover  to  cover  at  a sitting, 
and  those  who  go  to  it  for  a lively  and 
brisk  picture  of  the  past,  with  all  its  faults 
and  its  grandeur,  will  not  be  disappointed. 
The  historian  is  endowed  with  literary 
skill  and  style.’ — Standard. 

E.  L.  S.  Horsburgh.  WATERLOO : A 
Narrative  and  Criticism.  By  E.  L.  S. 
Horsburgh,  M.  A.  With  Plans. 
Second  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  5*. 

‘A  brilliant  essay — simple,  sound,  and 
thorough.’ — Daily  Chronicle. 

H.  B.  George.  BATTLES  OF 
ENGLISH  HISTORY.  By  H.  B. 
George,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  New 
College,  Oxford.  With  numerous 
Plans.  Third  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo.  6s. 

‘ Mr.  George  has  undertaken  a very  useful 
task — that  of  making  military  affairs  ir- 
telligible  and  instructive  to  non-military 
readers — and  has  executed  it  with  a 
large  measure  of  success.' — Times. 


General  Literature 


S.  Baring  Gould.  OLD  COUNTRY 
LIFE.  ByS.  Baring  Gould.  With 
Sixty-seven  Illustrations.  Large  Cr. 
8 vo.  Fifth  Edition.  6s. 

‘ “ Old  Country  Life, "as  healthy  wholesome 
reading,  full  of  breezy  life  and  move- 
ment, full  of  quaint  stories  vigorously 
told,  will  not  be  excelled  by  any  book  to 
be  published  throughout  the  year. 
Sound,  hearty,  and  English  to  the  core. ' 
—World. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  AN  OLD  ENGLISH 
HOME.  By  S.  Baring  Gould. 
With  numerous  Plans  and  Illustra- 
tions. Croton  8 vo.  6s. 

‘The  chapters  are  delightfully  fresh,  very- 
informing,  and  lightened  by  many  a good 
story.  A delightful  fireside  companion.' 
— St.  James's  Gazette. 


S.  Baring  Gould.  HISTORIC 
.ODDITIES  AND  STRANGE 
EVENTS.  By  S.  Baring  Gould. 
Fifth  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  FREAKS  OF 
FANATICISM.  By  S.  Baring 
GOULD.  Third  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo.  6s. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  A GARLAND  OF 
COUNTRY  SONG:  English  Folk 
Songs  with  their  Traditional  Melodies. 
Collected  and  arranged  by  S.  Baring 
Gould  and  H.  F.  Sheppard. 
Demy  4 to . 6s. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  SONGS  OF  THE 
WEST : Traditional  Ballads  and 
Songs  of  the  West  of  England,  with 
their  Melodies.  Collected  by  S. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue  25 


Baring  Gould,  M.A. , and  H.  F. 
Sheppard,  M.A.  In  4 Parts.  Parts 
/.,  II.,  III.,  31.  each.  Part  IV.,  51. 
In  one  Vol.,  French  morocco,  15s. 

‘ A rich  collection  of  humour,  pathos,  grace, 
and  poetic  fancy.' — Saturday  Review. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  YORKSHIRE 
ODDITIES  AND  STRANGE 
EVENTS.  By  S.  Baring  Gould. 
Fifth  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

S.  Baring  Gould.  STRANGE  SUR- 
VIVALS AND  SUPERSTITIONS. 
By  S.  Baring  Gould.  Cr.  8 vo. 
Second  Edition.  6s. 

Marie  Corelli  THE  PASSING  OF 
THE  GREAT  QUEEN  : A Tribute 
to  the  Noble  Life  of  Victoria  Regina. 
By  Marie  Corelli.  Small  4I0.  is. 

Cotton  Minchin.  OLD  HARROW 
DAYS.  By  J.  G.  Cotton  Minchin. 
Cr.  8 vo.  Second  Edition.  5 s. 

W.  E.  Gladstone.  THE  SPEECHES 
OF  THE  RT.  HON.  W.  E.  GLAD- 
STONE, M.P.  Edited  by  A.  W. 
Hutton,  M.A.,  and  H.  J.  Cohen, 
M.A.  With  Portraits.  Demy  8 vo. 
Vols.  IX.  and  X.,  12 s.  6 d.  each. 

M.  N.  Oxford.  A HANDBOOK  OF 
NURSING.  By  M.  N.  Oxford,  of 
Guy's  Hospital.  Crown  8 vo.  y.  6 d. 

* The  most  useful  work  of  the  kind  that  we 
have  seen.  A most  valuable  and  prac- 
tical manual.’ — Manchester  Guardian. 

E.  V.  Zenker.  ANARCHISM.  By 
E.  V.  Zenker.  Demy  8 vo.  ys.  6 d. 

Emily  Lawless.  A GARDEN  DIARY. 
By  the  Hon.  Emily  Lawless. 
Demy  8 vo.  ys.  6d.  net. 

S.  J.  Duncan.  ON  THE  OTHER 
SIDE  OF  THE  LATCH.  By  Sara 
Jeannette  Duncan  (Mrs.  Cotes), 
Author  of ' A Voyage  of  Consolation. 1 
Second  Edition.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

W.  Williamson.  THE  BRITISH 
GARDENER.  By W.  Williamson. 
Illustrated.  Demy  8 vo.  10 s.  6d. 

Arnold  White.  EFFICIENCY  AND 
EMPIRE.  By  Arnold  White. 
Crown  8vo.  6s. 

'Stimulating  and  entertaining  throughout, 


it  deserves  the  attention  of  every  patriotic 
Englishman.* — Daily  Mail. 

‘A  notable  book.’ — Literature. 

‘A  book  of  sound  work,  deep  thought,  and 
a sincere  endeavour  to  rouse  the  British 
to  a knowledge  of  the  value  of  their 
Empire . ’ — Bookma  n . 

‘ A more  vigorous  work  has  not  been  written 
for  many  years.’ — Review  of  the  Week. 

A.  Silva  White.  THE  EXPANSION 
OF  EGYPT:  A Political  and  His- 
torical Survey.  By  A.  Silva  White. 
With  four  Special  Maps.  Demy  8 vo. 
15 s-  net. 

‘This  is  emphatically  the  best  account  of 
Egypt  as  it  is  under  English  control  that 
has  been  published  for  many  years.’ — 
Spectator. 

Chas.  Richardson.  THE  ENGLISH 
TURF.  By  Charles  Richardson. 
With  numerous  Illustrations  and 
Plans,  Demy  8 vo.  151-. 

‘As  a record  of  horses  and  courses,  this 
work  is  a valuable  addition  to  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Turf.  It  is  crammed  with 
sound  information,  and  with  reflections 
and  suggestions  that  are  born  of  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject.’ — 
Scotsman. 

‘ A book  which  is  sure  to  find  many  readers ; 
written  with  consummate  knowledge 
and  in  an  easy,  agreeable  style.' — Daily 
Chronicle. 

‘ From  its  sensible  introduction  to  its  very 
complex  index,  this  is  about  the  best  book 
that  we  are  likely  for  some  time  to  see 
upon  the  subject  with  which  it  deals.’ — 
A theneeum. 

Philip  Trevor.  THE  LIGHTER 
SIDE  OF  CRICKET.  By  Captain 
Philip  Trevor  (Dux).  Crown  8 vo. 
6s. 

A highly  interesting  volume,  dealing  with 
such  subjects  as  county  cricket,  village 
cricket,  cricket  for  boys  and  girls, 
literary  cricket,  and  various  other  sub- 
jects which  do  not  require  a severe  and 
technical  treatment. 

‘ A wholly  entertaining  book.' — Glasgow 
Herald. 

‘ The  most  welcome  book  on  our  national 
game  published  for  years.’ — County 
Gentleman. 

Peter  Beckford.  THOUGHTS  ON 
1 1 UNTI NG.  By  Peter  Beckford. 
Edited  by  J.  Otho  Paget,  and 
Illustrated  by  G.  H.  Jalland. 
Demy  8 vo.  ior.  6 d. 

' Beckford’s  “ Thoughts  on  Hunting  ” has 


26 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


long  been  a classic  with  sportsmen,  and 
the  present  edition  will  go  far  to  make  it 
a favourite  with  lovers  of  literature.' — 
Speaker. 

E.  B.  Michell.  THE  ART  AND 
PRACTICE  OF  HAWKING.  By 
E.  B.  Michell.  With  3 Photo- 
gravures  by  G.  E.  Lodge,  and  other 
Illustrations.  Demy  8 vo.  ioj.  6 d. 

‘ No  book  is  more  full  and  authoritative  than 
this  handsome  treatise.’ 

— Morning  Leader. 

H.  G.  Hutchinson.  THE  GOLFING 
PILGRIM.  By  Horace  G. 
Hutchinson.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

‘ Without  this  book  the  golfer’s  library  will 
be  incomplete.’ — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

J.  Wells.  OXFORD  AND  OXFORD 
LIFE.  By  Members  of  the  Uni- 
versity. Edited  by  J.  Wells,  M.A., 
Fellow  and  T utor  of  Wadham  College. 
Third  Edition.  Cr.  8 vo.  3J.  6 d. 

C.  G.  Robertson.  VOCES  ACADE- 
MICAL By  C.  Grant  Robertson, 
M.A. , Fellow  of  All  Souls’,  Oxford. 
With  a Frontispiece.  PottUvo.  31.  6d. 
‘Decidedly  clever  and  amusing.' — 

A thenaum. 

Rosemary  Cotes.  DANTE'S  GAR- 
DEN. By  Rosemary  Cotes.  With 
a Frontispiece.  Second  Edition.  Fcp. 
8 vo.  2 s.  6 d.  Leather , y.  6 d.  net. 

‘A  charming  collection  of  legends  of  the 
flowers  mentioned  by  Dante.’ — Academy. 

Clifford  Harrison.  READING  AND 
READERS.  By  Clifford  Harri- 
son. Fcp.  8 vo.  2 s.  6d. 

‘An  extremely  sensible  little  book.' — Man- 
chester Guardian. 


L.  Whibley.  GREEK  OLIGARCH- 
IES: THEIR  ORGANISATION 
AND  CHARACTER.  By  L. 
Whibley,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Pem- 
broke College,  Cambridge.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 

L.  L.  Price.  ECONOMIC  SCIENCE 
AND  PRACTICE.  By  L.  L.  Price, 
M.A.,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College,  Ox- 
ford. Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

J.  S.  Shedlock.  THE  PIANOFORTE 
SONATA  : Its  Origin  and  Develop- 
ment. By  J.  S.  Shedlock.  Crown 
8 vo.  y. 

1 This  work  should  be  in  the  possession  of 
every  musician  and  amateur.  A concise 
and  lucid  history  and  a very  valuable 
work  for  reference.' — A thcn&um. 

A.  Hulme  Beaman.  PONS  ASIN- 
ORUM;  OR,  A GUIDE  TO 
BRIDGE.  By  A.  Hulme  Bea- 
man. Second  Edition.  Fcap  8vo.  2 s. 

A practical  guide,  with  many  specimen 
games,  to  the  new  game  of  Bridge. 

E.  M.  Bowden.  THE  EXAMPLE  OF 
BUDDHA:  Being  Quotations  from 
Buddhist  Literature  for  each  Day  in 
the  Year.  Compiled  by  E.  M. 
Bowden.  Third  Edition.  16 mo. 
is.  6 d. 

F.  Ware.  EDUCATIONAL  RE- 
FORM. By  Fabian  Ware,  M.A. 
Crown  8 vo.  2 s.  6 d. 

Sidney  Peel.  PRACTICAL  LICENS- 
ING REFORM.  By  the  Hon  Sid- 
ney Peel,  late  Fellow  of  Trinity 
College,  Oxford,  and  Secretary  to 
the  Royal  Commission  on  the  Licens- 
ing Laws.  Second  Edition.  Crown 
8 vo.  1 s.  6 d. 


Philosophy 


L.  T.  Hobhouse.  THE  THEORY  OF 
KNOWLEDGE.  By  L.  T.  Hob- 
house,  Fellow  of  C.C.C.,  Oxford. 
Demy  8 vo.  21  s. 

‘ The  most  important  contribution  to 
English  philosophy  since  the  publication 
of  Mr.  Bradley’s  “Appearance  and 
Reality.”  ’ — Glasgow  Herald. 

W.  H.  Fairbrother.  THE  PHILO- 
SOPHY OF  T.  II.  GREEN.  By 
W.  H.  Fairbrother,  M.A.  Second 
Edition.  Cr.  8 vo.  y.  6d. 


‘In  every  way  an  admirable  book.’ — 
Glasgow  Herald. 

F.  W.  BusselL  THE  SCHOOL  OF 
PLATO.  By  F.  W.  Bussell,  D.D., 
Fellow  of  Brasenose  College,  Oxford. 
Demy  8 vo.  ior.  6d. 

F.  S.  Granger.  THE  WORSHIP 
OF  THE  ROMANS.  By  F.  S. 
Granger,  M.A.,  Litt.D.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


27 


Science 


E.  H.  Colbeck.  DISEASES  OF  THE 
HEART.  By  E.  H.  Colbeck, 
M.D.  With  numerous  Illustrations. 
Demy  8 vo.  12 s. 

W.  C.  C.  Pakes.  THE  SCIENCE  OF 
HYGIENE.  By  W.  C.  C.  Pakes. 
With  numerous  Illustrations.  Demy 
8 vo.  15  s. 

1 A thoroughgoing  working  text-book  of 
its  subject,  practical  and  well-stocked.' 
— Scotsman. 

A.  T.  Hare.  THE  CONSTRUC- 
TION OF  LARGE  INDUCTION 
COILS.  By  A.  T.  Hare,  M.A. 
With  numerous  Diagrams.  Demy 
8m  6s. 

J.  E.  Marr.  THE  SCIENTIFIC 
STUDY  OF  SCENERY.  By  J.  E. 
Marr,  F. R.S.,  Fellow  of  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge.  Illustrated. 
Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

‘A  volume,  moderate  in  size  and  readable 
in  style,  which  will  be  acceptable  alike 
to  the  student  of  geology  and  geo- 
graphy, and  to  the  tourist.'— .4  thenaum. 

J.  RitzemaBos.  AGRICULTURAL 
ZOOLOGY.  By  Dr.  J.  RitzemaBos. 
Translated  by  J.  R.  Ainsworth 
Davis,  M.A.  With  an  Introduction 
by  Eleanor  A.  Ormerod,  F.E.S. 
With  155  Illustrations.  Crown  8 vo. 
3-f.  6d. 

The  illustrations  are  exceedingly  good, 
whilst  the  information  conveyed  is  in- 
valuable.'— Country  Gentleman. 

Ed.  von  Freudenreieh.  DAIRY 
BACTERIOLOGY.  A Short  Manual 
for  the  Use  of  Students.  By  Dr. 


Ed.  von  Freudenreich,  Trans- 
lated by  J.  R.  Ainsworth  Davis, 
M.A.  Second  Edition , Revised. 
Crown  8 vo.  2 s.  6 d. 

Chalmers  Mitchell.  OUTLINES  OF 
BIOLOGY.  By  P.  CHALMERS 
Mitchell,  M.A.  Illustrated.  Cr. 
8 vo.  6s. 

A text-book  designed  to  cover  the  new 
Schedule  issued  by  the  Royal  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons. 

George  Massee.  A MONOGRAPH 
OF  THE  MYXOGASTRES.  By 
George  Massee.  With  12  Coloured 
Plates.  Royal Svo.  i8r.  net. 

'A  work  much  in  advance  of  any  book  in 
the  language  treating  of  this  group  of 
organisms.  Indispensable  to  every 
student  of  the  Myxogastres. ' — Nature. 

C.  Stephenson  and  F.  Suddards. 

ORNAMENTAL  DESIGN  FOR 
WOVEN  FABRICS.  By  C. 
Stephenson,  of  the  Technical 
College,  Bradford,  and  F.  Suddards, 
of  the  Yorkshire  College,  Leeds. 
With  65  full-page  plates.  Demy  Svo. 
Second  Edition.  7 s.  6 d. 

' The  book  is  very  ably  done,  displaying  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  principles,  good 
taste,  and  the  faculty  of  clear  exposi- 
tion.'— Yorkshire  Post. 

C.  C.  Channer  and  M.  E.  Roberts. 

LACE-MAKING  IN  THE  MID- 
LANDS, PAST  AND  PRESENT. 
By  C.  C.  Channer  and  M.  E. 
Roberts.  With  16  full-page  Illus- 
trations. Crown  Svo.  2 s.  6 d. 

1 An  interesting  book,  illustrated  by  fascin- 
ating photographs.’ — Speaker. 


Theology 


W.  R.  Inge.  CHRISTIAN  MYSTI- 
CISM. The  Bampton  Lectures 
for  1899.  By  W.  R.  Inge,  M.A., 
Fellow  and  Tutor  of  Hertford 


College,  Oxford.  Demy  Svo.  12 s.  6 d. 
net. 

‘It  is  fully  worthy  of  the  best  traditions 
connected  with  the  Bampton  Lecture- 
ship.’— Record. 


28 


Messrs.  Methuen’s  Catalogue 


Lady  Julian  of  Norwich.  REVELA- 
TIONS OF  DIVINE  LOVE.  By 
the  Lady  Julian  of  Norwich. 
Edited  by  Grace  Warrack.  Crown 
8 vo.  6s. 

A partially  modernised  version,  from  the 
MS.  in  the  British  Museum  of  a book 
which  Dr.  Dalgairns  terms  ‘ One  of  the 
most  remarkable  books  of  the  Middle 
Ages.’  Mr.  Inge  in  his  Bampton  Lec- 
tures on  Christian  Mysticism  calls  it 
* The  beautiful  but  little  known  Revela- 
tions' 

R.  M.  Benson.  THE  WAY  OF  HOLI- 
NESS: a Devotional  Commentary 
on  the  119th  Psalm.  By  R.  M. 
Henson,  M.A. , of  the  Cowley 
Mission,  Oxford.  Crown  8 vo.  51. 

‘ His  facility  is  delightful,  and  his  very 
sound  and  accurate  theological  sense 
saves  him  from  many  of  the  obvious 
dangers  of  such  a gift.  Give  him  a 
word  or  a number  and  at  once  there 
springs  forth  a fertile  stream  of  thought, 
never  commonplace,  usually  both  deep 
and  fresh.  F or  devotional  purposes  we 
think  this  book  most  valuable.  Readers 
will  find  a great  wealth  of  thought  if 
they  use  the  book  simply  as  a help  to 
meditation.’ — Guardian. 

Jacob  Behmen.  THE  SUPERSENS- 
UAL  LIFE.  By  Jacob  Behmen. 
Edited  by  Bernard  Holland. 
Fcap  8 vo.  3 s.  6 d. 

S.  R.  Driver.  SERMONS  ON  SUB- 
JECTS CONNECTED  WITH 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  By  S. 
R.  Driver,  D.D.,  Canon  of  Christ 
Church,  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew 
in  the  University  of  Oxford.  Cr.  8 vo. 
6s. 

‘A  welcome  companion  to  the  author's 
famous  “ Introduction."  ’ — Guardian. 

T.  K.  Cheyne.  FOUNDERS  OF  OLD 
TESTAMENT  CRITICISM.  By 
T.  K.  Cheyne,  D.D.,  Oriel  Pro- 
fessor at  Oxford.  Large  Crown  8 vo. 
7 s.  6 d. 

A historical  sketch  ofO.  T.  Criticism. 

Walter  Lock.  ST.  PAUL,  THE 
MASTER-BUILDER.  ByWALTER 
Lock,  D.D.,  Warden  of  Keble 
College.  Crown  8 vo.  $s.  6 d. 

‘The  essence  of  the  Pauline  teaching  is 
condensed  into  little  more  than  a hun- 
dred pages,  yet  no  point  of  importance 
is  overlooked.’ — Guardian. 


F.  S.  Granger.  THE  SOUL  OF  A 
CHRISTIAN.  By  F.  S.  Granger, 
M.A.,  Litt.D.  Crown  8vo.  6s. 

A book  dealing  with  the  evolution  of  the 
religious  life  and  experiences. 

' A remarkable  book.’ — Glasgow  Herald. 

1 Both  a scholarly  and  thoughtful  book.’ — 
Scotsman. 

H.  RashdalL  DOCTRINE  AND 
DEVELOPMENT.  By  Hastings 
Rashdall,  M.A. , Fellow  arid  Tutor 
of  New  College,  Oxford.  Cr.  8vo.  6s. 

H.  a Henson.  APOSTOLIC  CHRIS- 
TIANITY : As  Illustrated  by  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians. 
By  H.  H.  Henson,  M.A.,  Fellow  of 
All  Souls’,  Oxford,  Canon  of  West- 
minster. Cr.  8 vo.  6s. 

H.  H.  Henson.  DISCIPLINE  AND 
LAW.  By  H.  Hensley  Henson, 
M.A.,  Fellow  of  All  Souls',  Oxford. 
Fcap.  8 vo.  2 s.  6J. 

H.  H.  Henson.  LIGHT  AND 
LEAVEN  : Historical  and 

Social  Sermons.  By  H.  H.  Hen- 
son, M.A.  Crown  8 vo.  6s. 

J.  Houghton  Kennedy.  ST.  PAUL'S 
SECOND  AND  THIRD 
EPISTLES  TO  THE  CORIN- 
THIANS. With  Introduction,  Dis- 
sertations, and  Notes,  by  James 
Houghton  Kennedy,  D.D., 
Assistant  Lecturer  in  Divinity  in  the 
University  of  Dublin.  Crown  8vo.  6s. 

Bennett  and  Adeney.  A BIBLICAL 
INTRODUCTION.  By  W.  H. 
Ben